Pittsburgh, July 30, 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 participate in National Minority Donor Awareness Week, taking place from August 1-7, 2013 alongside partner organizations and OPOs across the country. The weeklong event aims to raise awareness of the need and importance of organ, tissue and cornea donation among African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, Native American and Pacific Islander populations.

“There is an urgent need for organ donors in the minority community. Minorities make up more than half of the people on the national organ transplant list but comprise only about a quarter of registered donors today,” said Susan Stuart, president and CEO of CORE. “We are pleased to commemorate this important weeklong event and to have a presence at events throughout the community to educate minority populations on organ, tissue and cornea donation and encourage them to sign up to become a donor.”

In honor of National Minority Donor Awareness Week, CORE will participate in the WV Multifest in Charleston, WV (August 2-4). The Multifest is an annual celebration of ethnic diversity and multiculturalism in West Virginia and one of the largest educational and family-oriented events in the area. CORE will also be an exhibitor at the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement (NOBLE) Conference Health Fair Pavilion August 3-6 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.

Consider these minority donation statistics:

• There are more than 38,000 African Americans currently waiting for a life-saving organ transplant in the U.S.
• More than half of the national transplant waiting list is made up of multicultural populations. This is because certain diseases of the kidney, heart, lung, pancreas and liver that are best treated through transplantation are found more frequently in these populations.
• African Americans and other minorities are three times more likely to suffer from end-stage renal disease than Caucasians.
• African Americans represent the highest percentage of multicultural patients in need of a transplant, followed by Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders and people of multi-racial descent.
• Hispanic Americans comprise 12.5 percent of the U.S. population, yet they make up 18 percent of the candidates currently waiting for organ transplants.

Nationally, more than 119,000 people are awaiting an organ transplant. At least 18 will die each day without receiving one, including two from CORE’s service area. For every person who donates their organs, tissues and corneas, up to 50 lives can be saved or dramatically improved.

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.