Donate Life West Virginia Collaborates with West Virginia Rural Health Association to Raise Awareness about Organ Donor Registration
– Nearly 200 Community Health Centers to Participate –
Charleston, W.Va., Feb. 11, 2016 – Donate Life West Virginia is collaborating with the West Virginia Rural Health Association and nearly 200 community health centers to raise awareness about the life-affirming power of organ, tissue and cornea donation.
The Caring, Hope, Commitment program will officially launch on Feb. 14 and run through Aug. 31. The program will highlight donor recipients, such as Blake Foster, who was diagnosed with liver cancer at the age of 3. Today, Foster is a healthy fourth-grade honor student and enjoys fishing and spending time with his cat and dog.
“The powerful stories of recipients such as Blake Foster are a living testament to the importance of registering as an organ donor,” said Susan Stuart, president and CEO, the Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE). “Through our collaboration with West Virginia Rural Health Association we will increase organ donation awareness and reduce waiting times for recipients in need of life-saving transplants in the state of West Virginia.”
“Raising awareness about the importance of organ donor registration and its potential to improve the health of or save lives of West Virginians complements our mission to empower all West Virginians to advance their quality of life,” said Debrin Jenkins, executive director, West Virginia Rural Health Association.
Nearly 500 West Virginians are awaiting a life-saving organ transplant. Thousands more are in need of healing tissue or cornea transplants. Nationally, more than 123,000 people are awaiting an organ transplant. At least 22 people will die each day without receiving one. For every person who donates organs, tissue and corneas, as many as 50 lives can be saved or dramatically improved.
About CORE
The Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE) is one of 58 federally designated not-for-profit organ procurement organizations (OPOs) in the United States. CORE works closely with donor families and designated health care professionals to coordinate the surgical recovery of organs, tissues and corneas for transplantation. CORE also facilitates the computerized matching of donated organs and placement of corneas. With headquarters in Pittsburgh and an office in Charleston, West Virginia, CORE oversees a region that encompasses 155 hospitals and almost six million people throughout western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Chemung County, NY. For more information, visit www.core.org or call 1-800-DONORS-7.
About Donate Life West Virginia
Donate Life West Virginia is comprised of four federally designated organ procurement organizations (OPOs) that are dedicated to promoting and coordinating the donation of organs and tissue for transplantation: CORE, Lifeline of Ohio Organ Procurement Agency, Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates and LifeNet Health. For more information, visit www.donatelifewv.org.