News:

Web Portal Makes Organ Donation Easy - August 20, 2007

August 1 is National Minority Donor Awareness Day – July 25, 2006

Brochure Provides Reassurance for Religious Communities – May 31, 2006

Philadelphia Resident Gives Gift of Hope, Saves Six Lives – February 1, 2006

State Income Tax Return Can Save Lives – January 30, 2006

Harrisburg, PA, – August 20, 2007 – Statewide organ donation groups today formally unveiled a Web portal that will enable individuals to sign up as organ donors online – rather than waiting until their driver’s license or photo ID card is up for renewal or visiting a driver’s license center in person.

The Web portal, www.donatelife-pa.org, will link visitors to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s Driver and Vehicle Services Web site, where they can add the organ donor designation using the online service. The entire process takes on average less than 90 seconds, and has the potential to save and enhance more than 50 lives.

The Web portal was developed as part of the ‘Ordinary People, Extraordinary Power’ campaign, a collaborative educational and outreach effort to encourage individuals to say ‘yes” to organ and tissue donation. The campaign is sponsored by the Departments of Health and Transportation, the Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE) in western Pennsylvania, and Gift of Life Donor Program in eastern Pennsylvania.

‘We believe it is time to make the process of signing up to be a designated organ donor easier, so that the potential of more lives being saved is increased,’ said Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Calvin B. Johnson.

Pennsylvania Transportation Secretary Allen D. Biehler said PennDOT is honored to support these life-saving organizations by offering this online service.

‘Currently, 43 percent of licensed drivers and photo ID card holders in Pennsylvania are registered organ donors,’ he said. ‘The online registration option is a quick and easy way for Pennsylvania’s licensed drivers and photo ID card holders to give the gift of life – it’s the greatest gift anyone can give.’

Currently, 6,730 Pennsylvanians await a life-saving organ transplant, of the total 95,323 waiting nationwide. The number of organ donors has nearly doubled since 1994 – the year Pennsylvania’s Act 102 that helped regulate donation was enacted – growing to 587 statewide in 2006. But CORE and Gift of Life’s collective work is far from complete, and 2007 will see a continued focus on more lives being saved.

‘We know most people support organ donation – and we want to let everyone know they now have the ability to go online today 24 hours a day, seven days a week and put the designation on their driver’s license or photo ID card,” said Howard M. Nathan, Gift of Life’s president and CEO. “Just click on the ‘Sign Up Now’ button on www.donatelife-pa.org and in 90 seconds, you can register to help save 50 lives.’

‘We are delighted to be able to offer individuals an easy, convenient way to sign up to be an organ donor,’ said Susan A. Stuart, president and CEO of CORE. ‘We believe the simplicity and ease of the sign-up process will result in many more organ donors in our state.’

CORE is a regional not-for-profit agency that is the primary call center and intermediary for the organ recovery and allocation process that serves 156 hospitals and more than six million people in western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Chemung County in New York. CORE has helped to pioneer organ procurement allocation and recovery for this region since it was founded in 1977 as the Pittsburgh Transplant Foundation.

Since 1974, Gift of Life has served as the link between donors and patients awaiting life-saving transplants in the eastern half of Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware. In that tenure, Gift of Life has coordinated more than 25,000 life-saving organ transplants and hundreds of thousand tissue transplants.

Funding for the Web portal was provided from the Governor Robert P. Casey Memorial Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Trust Fund.

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PHILADELPHIA – July 25, 2006 – Pennsylvania’s Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) are observing National Minority Donor Awareness Day on Aug. 1 by reaching out to minority communities in an effort to educate and raise awareness about this important health issue.

The Multicultural Affairs Committee of Gift of Life Donor Program (GOL), the OPO serving the eastern half of Pennsylvania, is sponsoring their 10th Annual Gospel Concert and Vigil on July 30, 6 p.m., at Sharon Baptist Church, 3955 Conshohocken Ave., Philadelphia. The concert features special guest, EMI recording artist, LaShun Pace, the music of the Sharon Baptist Mass choir and the comedy of Stan “The Man” Jacobs. Ed Long of Praise 103.9 radio will emcee the event.

“There are many myths and misconceptions about organ and tissue donation, especially within the African American community,” said Tina Evans-Caines, Community Relations Coordinator, GOL. “Through community-based special events like the Gospel Concert, we continue to raise awareness, which is so critical because African Americans are at high risk for health conditions such as hypertension, heart disease, obesity and diabetes, all of which can lead to the need for an organ transplant, especially kidney transplants,” she added, “In our region African Americans represent 40% of the patients awaiting a kidney transplant.”

In western Pennsylvania, The Center for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE), is reaching out to establish partnerships with minority organizations in the community, to conduct joint programming.

One person working as part of CORE’s volunteer effort is Karen Henderson, who understands first-hand the importance and impact of organ and tissue donation after the death of her 17 year-old son, Thomas. He was a straight-A student, debater, track star and student leader who was preparing applications to Ivy League universities and military academies when an automobile accident, in August 2003, claimed his life on the first day of his senior year in high school.

“Of course I would love my son to still be here, but our family’s decision to donate has given me peace. I think Tom's simple act of ‘signing up’ to become an organ donor taught us to share what we had been given – the gift of life. Because organ donation is a gift of unselfish love, my family is most proud and honored to say, ‘Tom was an organ donor.’" His donations restored the sight of two people and improved the lives of many others. His legacy continues as Henderson actively shares her story to encourage organ donation, particularly within the African American community.

National Minority Donor Awareness Day is an important opportunity to educate and raise awareness about the importance of organ and tissue donation. Across Pennsylvania, approximately 6,500 people are awaiting an organ transplant. Of those, twenty-seven percent are African American, an increase of two percent in the past 12 months. This statistic is disproportionately high since African Americans represent only 10 percent of Pennsylvania’s overall population. Nationally, minority patients comprise more than half of the 92,000 patients on the transplant waiting list, according to data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.

For more information, call 877-DONOR-PA or visit www.donatelife-pa.org to find the closest driver’s license center where you can add the donor designation to your driver’s license or state identification card.

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NEW ORGAN AND TISSUE DONOR BROCHURE PROVIDES
REASSURANCE FOR MEMBERS OF RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES
Aims to Dispel Common Myths

HARRISBURG, Pa. – May 31, 2006 – Many myths exist about organ and tissue donation, but one of the most common is that some religions object to it. That’s why the Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE) – serving western Pennsylvania – and Gift of Life Donor Program – serving eastern Pennsylvania – have created a new brochure titled, “A Faith-Based Decision: Religious Perspectives on Organ & Tissue Donation,” to reach out to the religious community.

"The single-largest problem confronting organ donation is the shortage of suitable organs for transplant," said Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Calvin B. Johnson. "One way to help increase the number of organs that are available for transplant and extend the lives of those in need is by educating religious leaders and their congregation about the benefits of being an organ donor," he added.

In Pennsylvania alone, 6,500 people are currently on the transplant waiting list. Across the country, 17 people die each day while awaiting a transplant. The brochure educates the public about religious perspectives on donation, and includes information about 22 different religious views, from AME and Catholic to Islam, Jewish, Lutheran and United Methodist.

Bishop Ernest C. Morris, Sr.D.D., former president, Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity, who is quoted in the pamphlet noted, “In view of the wonderful advancements made in medical science concerning organ and tissue donation, God has shown favor in this area and I believe that He is pleased when we help to bring forth life and a better quality of life through donation.” This perspective is echoed by Bishop Anthony G. Bosco, Bishop Emeritus, Catholic Diocese of Greensburg, who stated, “Many devout people believe that God is the creator of all life and has given us bodies which, in a sense, are on loan to enable us to do good. One of the greatest gifts we can give when our body is no longer animated is to pass on the gift of God to another child of God. Our gift helps them to continue giving.”

“Since individuals often turn to their clergy for guidance with important end-of-life decisions, our hope is that Pennsylvania religious leaders will join us in educating and reassuring members of their congregations that organ donation is the supreme act of charity. We invite them to encourage their congregants to add the organ donor designation to their driver’s license or state identification card,” said Susan Stuart, president and CEO of CORE.

The brochures are being distributed free-of-charge through faith-based and community organizations. To receive a copy, or learn more about organ and tissue donation, call 1-877-DONOR-PA or visit www.donatelife-pa.org.

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PHILADELPHIA RESIDENT GIVES THE GIFT OF HOPE, SAVES SIX LIVES
Mother Donates Son’s Organs at Time of Death

PHILADELPHIA, PA – FEB. 1, 2006 – When Cynthia London’s youngest son was born in 1975, she named him Sipho Themble, a South African name that means gift of hope. Eight years ago, the meaning of Sipho’s (pronounced SEE-po) name took on far-reaching implications when he became an organ donor.

In March of 1997, 22-year-old Sipho was shot, leaving him brain dead. Even in her time of grief, London knew that her son would want to help others by becoming an organ and tissue donor. “Sipho’s death was senseless. He was a strong, athletic young man with everything in the world to live for, and all good things ahead of him. The only good that could come out of this tragedy was for his organs to give hope to others,” said London.

London has met several of the recipients of her son’s organs, including the 55-year-old man who got his heart. “I’ve met him and his family, and we’ve formed a close bond,” she said. As a way to come to terms with her loss, London became involved as a volunteer with Gift of Life Donor Program, the organ procurement organization serving eastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and Delaware, and tells her story to others. “Donor family members always have sad stories,” she said. “We’ve lost a loved one at a crucial time in his or her life. But for me, Sipho’s organ and tissue donation gives meaning to his death.”

London, who is an application specialist for the Philadelphia Housing Authority, is now a board member for Gift of Life. She has two other grown children, and is also involved in the life of Amira, Sipho’s daughter, who is now 13. “She doesn’t really remember her daddy, which makes me sad. But we work hard to keep his spirit alive.”

Beginning during Black History Month in February and continuing through the end of April, Sipho’s picture will be featured in a 14’ x 48’ billboard on I-95 near the exit approaching Girard and Lehigh Avenues as part of Ordinary People, Extraordinary Power, the statewide organ and tissue donor awareness campaign featuring actual drivers’ license photos of organ donors. With more than 6,500 Pennsylvanians awaiting life-saving organ transplants, and thousands more hoping for life-enhancing tissue transplants, the campaign’s goal is to raise awareness, increase the percentage of registered organ and tissue donors throughout the state, and increase calls and referrals to 1-877-DONOR-PA.

The campaign is conducted by Gift of Life Donor Program, in partnership with the Center for Organ Recovery and Education (the other organ procurement organization serving Pennsylvania) and the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

For more information about organ and tissue donation and to learn how you can help, call 1-877-DONOR-PA or visit the campaign Web site at www.donatelife-pa.org. More information is also available at www.donors1.org.

Cynthia London, and representatives of Gift of Life Donor Program, are available for interviews. Please e-mail Lana Weinstein lana@toplin.com or Megan Smith megan@toplin.com or call 215-793-4666. Stand–ups or photo shoots can also be arranged near a billboard on Cottman Ave., east of Large St.

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HELP PENNSYLVANIANS AWAITING A LIFE-SAVING ORGAN TRANSPLANT -
YOUR STATE INCOME TAX RETURN CAN BRING HOPE AND SAVE LIVES
Check the Box and Give $1 to Raise Awareness about Organ and Tissue Donation

HARRISBURG, Pa. – January 30, 2006 – With tax season quickly approaching, consider making a difference for the 6,500 Pennsylvanians currently on the transplant waiting list by contributing $1 to the Governor Robert P. Casey Memorial Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Trust Fund. Simply check the contribution box on the bottom of your Pennsylvania income tax form and include a dollar when you file.

The Trust Fund, established in 1995 to increase organ and tissue donation by means of education and public awareness activities, has had measurable effects on public perception. At a time when 17 people in the U.S. die each day while awaiting a transplant, nearly 43 percent of Pennsylvanians have added the organ donor designation to their driver's licenses, photo identification cards and learner's permits, as of December 2005. But there is still more work to be done to change attitudes and raise awareness.

The ongoing Ordinary People Extraordinary Power campaign, funded solely by private contributions to the Trust Fund, has had a positive impact, with an additional 66,186 people signing up as organ and tissue donors since December 2004. This compelling campaign tells true stories of 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 special events sponsored by the Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE) and Gift of Life Donor Program, the two organ procurement organizations serving Pennsylvania.

The campaign is co-sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Pennsylvanians can also add a $1 contribution with their vehicle registration and driver’s license applications. To learn more about organ and tissue donation, or to arrange to give a larger contribution to the Governor Robert P. Casey Memorial Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Trust Fund, call 1-877-DONOR-PA or visit www.donatelife-pa.org.

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