NEW YORK ORGAN DONOR NETWORK PARTNERS WITH THE NATIONAL MINORITY ORGAN AND TISSUE AND TRANSPLANT EDUCATION PROGRAM 

Close Alliance Coincides With Black History Month and the Goal of Increasing Organ and Tissue Donation in New York Metro

New York, NY, January 26, 2005: - As the nation prepares to celebrate Black History Month in February, the New York Donor Network , in its continued commitment to increase awareness about organ and tissue donation in the black community in the New York metro region, has announced a formal partnership with the National Minority Organ and Tissue Transplant Education Program (MOTTEP) . Through this agreement, the Donor Network will replicate successful community education models implemented by MOTTEP in other states and distribute their materials in the New York Metropolitan area.

MOTTEP, founded in 1991 by Dr. Clive Callender , a transplant surgeon and professor of surgery at Howard University College of Medicine in Washington , DC , seeks to educate blacks about organ and tissue transplantation. It also aims to empower black communities to develop education programs which allow them to become involved in addressing the shortage of donors. MOTTEP's national office is headquartered at Howard University Hospital .

“I am very excited about the partnership between National MOTTEP and the New York Organ Donor Network,” stated Dr Callender. “The number of people on the organ transplant list continues to rise, and blacks represent around 30 percent of those waiting for organs. This partnership will allow the National MOTTEP message about the tremendous need for organs and tissues to further expand into our targeted minority communities in New York .”

Elaine Berg , president and CEO of the New York Donor Network, agrees that this collaboration is a positive development. “We have often worked with MOTTEP in the past,” she said. “But this official partnership will strengthen our emphasis on community-based outreach to educate African-Americans about organ and tissue donation. This reinforces our idea that each person can make a difference. It is particularly fitting that we can announce this alliance at the start of Black History Month, when we celebrate past achievements and look to the future with determination and hope.”

To celebrate Black History month in a meaningful way during February, the New York Organ Donor Network is urging people of African descent to find out all they can about organ and tissue donation. The Donor Network asks black New Yorkers to sign their driver's licenses, enroll in the New York State organ and Tissue donor Registry, and tell their families about their decisions to become donors.

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During Black History Month numerous community groups are lending their support to the Donor Network's efforts to reach out to blacks on the topic of organ and tissue donation.

•  The Rockland County chapters of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority have introduced a county wide drive to attract organ and tissue donors especially among the African-American, Hispanic and Haitian-American communities.

•  The Brown Memorial Baptist Church in Brooklyn is partnering with the New York Organ Donor Network for the Organ Donor Gospel Concert on February 19. A portion of the proceeds of this event will benefit MOTTEP.

•  National Council of Negro Women the Long Island Cross County Section will hold the 7th Annual Black History Luncheon at Chateau Briand on Long Island on February 5.

•  The Black Nurses Association at Bellevue Hospital will present Organ Donor Day on February 18. This event is designed to educate their members on organ and tissue donation.

For more information about organ and tissue donation, and to enroll in the donor registry, call 800-GIFT-4-NY or visit www.donatelifeny.org.

DATA:

Currently there are more than 87,000 Americans on the national list awaiting organs. Of these approximately 23,500 or 27 percent are black. In comparison, the national census data indicates that blacks only comprise 13 percent of the population.

In New York State , of the more than 8,000 that are awaiting organ transplants, approximately 2,400 or 30 percent are black. In addition, thousands more need life saving or life improving tissues such as eyes, bone and skin.

Each day, 17 Americans die because of the critical organ shortage. Every 13 minutes another person is added to the list of people nationwide awaiting life-saving transplants.

NEW YORK ORGAN DONOR NETWORK:

The New York Organ Donor Network is the federally designated nonprofit organ procurement organization (OPO) in the Greater New York metropolitan area. The Donor Network is responsible for recovery of organs and tissue for transplantation; and education of health care professionals and the public. Its service area covers a culturally and ethnically diverse population of over 13 million in the five boroughs of New York City; all of Long Island; Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties; in addition to Pike County, PA.

For more information, contact Martin Woolf at 646-291-4460 or mwoolf@nyodn.org