April is National Donate Life Month; Pennsylvania Raises Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness with Events Statewide.

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- April, always a month of renewal and rebirth, is the perfect time to celebrate National Donate Life Month, a coast-to-coast initiative to increase organ donor awareness and registration. According to the Coalition on Donation, 91 percent of Americans support organ donation, but only 34 percent know how to become a donor in their states. Here in Pennsylvania, thanks to the ongoing education and media campaign, Ordinary People, Extraordinary Power, nearly 61,000 new state residents signed on as designated organ donors from March 2004 to March 2005.

The compelling Ordinary People, Extraordinary Power campaign tells the true stories of both donor families and transplant recipients, featuring actual drivers' license photos of Pennsylvanians who became organ donors at the time of their deaths. Scheduled to continue through 2006, the campaign includes billboard and radio advertising and a series of special events sponsored by Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE), Gift of Life Donor Program, The Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Because of the shortage of organ donors across the country, 17 people die each day while awaiting a transplant. In Pennsylvania alone, 6,300 people are currently on the waiting list. This campaign encourages every Pennsylvania resident to add the organ donor designation to his or her driver's license or state identification card.

Employees at driver license centers across the state are also learning more about the need for organ and tissue donation in special training sessions this month. New brochures, available in English and Spanish, have been created to answer commonly asked questions and are available to customers at the centers. To learn more about organ donation in your county, and to read personal stories about what it has meant to donor families, visit www.donatelife-pa.org. You can also call 1-877-DONOR-PA.

April 2005 Donate Life Events in Pennsylvania

--Gift of Life will sponsor two programs in April within religious communities in York and Philadelphia counties. A free health education seminar for parish nurses will be held at Emanuel Church of God in Christ in York on Saturday, April 30. This program will feature a clinical presentation on organ and tissue donation and provide the participants with information about how church health ministries can get involved in promoting donation in their congregations and surrounding communities.

--A special prayer breakfast, co-sponsored by Multicultural Affairs Committee and Corinthian Baptist Church Women's Ministry, will be held in Philadelphia on Saturday, April 30. The program will feature personal testimonials from transplant recipients and donor families, as well as music and a performance by Corinthian's Praise Dancers. This program is free and includes breakfast. It is being held in conjunction with women's health programs currently underway at Corinthian Baptist Church.

--CORE plans a host of events in April, including the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Celebration of LIFE on April 29. For information, call 412-963-3560 or visit www.core.org.

--The Pennsylvania Department of Education is kicking off the distribution of "Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Education Classroom Toolkits: the decision of a lifetime" to more than 500 Pennsylvania school districts to help educators teach secondary education students about organ and tissue donation.

--The Spring Institute for Educators, scheduled April 28-29, brings

educators, representatives of the Departments of Education and Health, and a team from Gift of Life and CORE together to discuss the important role that teachers play in educating students about organ and tissue donation. In addition to many other valuable sessions, hands-on lesson planning will be offered and educators will understand the connection of this initiative in Pennsylvania to national programs as well as donation within minority communities.

--Beginning on June 8 and continuing throughout the baseball season, Donor Awareness Nights will be sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Health at seven minor league stadiums in Pennsylvania. Families of donors and transplant recipients will take an active role in special events at these games.

Additionally, the newly released Pennsylvania Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness vehicle license plate is available to help spread the word about the importance of becoming a donor. The plates are $22.50 and are available by sending a check or money order to the Transplant Foundation, 401 North Third Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19123.