Pittsburgh, June 18, 2013 – The Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE), a federally designated not-for-profit organ procurement organization (OPO) serving Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and parts of New York, is pleased to announce its inaugural “Pledge for Life” Film Festival taking place from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, June 27 at CORE’s Pittsburgh headquarters (204 Sigma Drive, RIDC Park, Pittsburgh, PA 15238). Developed to raise awareness about the importance of organ, tissue and cornea donation with the intent to challenge young filmmakers, films should entertain, enlighten and inspire viewers to want to make the Pledge for Life by becoming a registered donor.

“One person who makes the Pledge for Life by becoming a registered donor can save up to eight lives. With more than 118,000 individuals on the waiting list to receive a life-saving transplant, the need for more organ, tissue and cornea donors is greater than ever,” said Susan Stuart, president and CEO of CORE. “At CORE, we’re excited to hold the film festival as a way to raise awareness about this important cause by engaging young people to express their creativity about donation. It also provides a great opportunity to further educate these individuals and those around them about organ, tissue and cornea donation.”

The welcome reception begins at 6 p.m. followed by opening remarks from Stuart. Screening of films will take place at 6:45 p.m., followed by an awards presentation by festival judges and the voting on an Audience Favorite award at 7:30 p.m.

Individuals interested in attending are asked to RSVP by Monday, June 24 to Marla D’Andries at
1-800-366-6777 or mdandries@core.org.

For more information about CORE, visit www.core.org or call 1-800-DONORS-7.

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.