Pittsburgh, April 29, 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 partnering with the University of Pittsburgh and Donate Life America to highlight the important cause of organ, tissue and cornea donation at the Susan G. Komen West Virginia Race for the Cure (9:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 4, 2013 at State Capitol Kanawha Boulevard in Charleston, WV). Through the Organ Donors Matter campaign, individuals will have the opportunity to learn how organ, tissue and cornea donation can save and enhance lives by simply texting PLEDGE to 94253. As a special promotion, on race day, individuals who text CURE to 94253 can receive a free souvenir photo at the Organ Donors Matter photo booth, which will be located near the finish line.

“Ask an organ, tissue or cornea transplant recipient who their hero is, and you will hear the same words again and again, which are ‘my donor,’” said Susan Stuart, president and CEO of CORE. “At CORE, we are excited to reach race participants and attendees with this unique call-to-action. The ‘Organ Donors Matter’ campaign will increase awareness of the critical need for registered organ, tissue and cornea donors, and provide the public with information they need to make an informed decision about registering to become a donor.”

The Organ Donors Matter campaign is supported by a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to Howard B. Degenholtz, Ph.D., associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health’s Department of Health Policy & Management. Titled “Text2DonateLife: An Innovative Call to Action for Large-Scale Campaigns Using Text Messaging,” the grant seeks to provide a new way for a large number of people to simultaneously register to become organ, tissue and cornea donors using cell phone text messaging over a two-year period. For more information, visit www.text2donatelife.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.

About the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health
The University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, founded in 1948 and now one of the top-ranked schools of public health in the United States, conducts research on public health and medical care that improves the lives of millions of people around the world. Pitt Public Health is a leader in devising new methods to prevent and treat cardiovascular diseases, HIV/AIDS, cancer and other important public health problems. For more information about Pitt Public Health, visit the school’s Web site at www.publichealth.pitt.edu.

About Donate Life America
Donate Life America is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit alliance of national organizations and state teams across the United States committed to increasing organ, eye and tissue donation. Donate Life America manages and promotes the national brand for donation, Donate Life, and assists Donate Life State Teams and national partners in facilitating high-performing donor registries; developing and executing effective multi-media donor education programs; and motivating the American public to register now as organ, eye and tissue donors.