Pittsburgh, July 16, 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, will join the Kidney Transplant Center at Charleston Area Medical Center (CAMC) in hosting “Organ Donation Awareness Night” at the West Virginia Power baseball game on Friday, July 19 at Appalachian Power Park. Prior to WV Power taking on the Savannah Sand Gnats, CORE will present CAMC with a HRSA Medal of Honor for Organ Donation, which recognizes hospitals that have achieved and sustained national goals for organ, tissue and cornea donation within their health care facilities in 2012.

“Large events such as this enable us to educate more people about the importance of making the Pledge for Life by becoming an organ, tissue and cornea donor, and we hope that West Virginia Power fans who are not already donors will make that choice on July 19,” said Susan Stuart, president and CEO of CORE. “We are also pleased to present CAMC with a Medal of Honor award for their ongoing commitment to donation. More lives are being saved or enhanced as a result of their efforts, and we are proud to be their partner.”

Additionally, current and former patients of CAMC’s Kidney Transplant Center will be honored on the field at 6:40 p.m. Texas native Nefeterius McPherson will also share her special connection to West Virginia as a result of organ donation. Throughout the evening, staff and volunteers from both CORE and CAMC will be manning informational booths, providing information to baseball fans on the importance of donation, and encouraging them to sign up to become a donor.

Nationally, more than 118,000 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.