NEW YORKERS “ HAVE THE POWER TO SAVE LIVES” THROUGH ORGAN AND TISSUE DONATION DURING NATIONAL DONATE LIFE MONTH IN APRIL

Lighting of the Empire State Building ; performances by poet, playwright, and kidney recipient Sekou Sundiata; and TRIO Manhattan 's ecumenical service at St. Patrick's Cathedral, are among the highlights to promote the cause of organ and tissue donation

NEW YORK, NY, March 4, 2005 - In observance of National Donate Life Month in April, the New York Organ Donor Network is appealing to New Yorkers to help reduce the number of people waiting for organ and tissue transplants by becoming organ and tissue donors. National Donate Life Month is endorsed by the United States department of Health and Human Services. The entire month of April is set aside to help raise public awareness of the critical need for organ, tissue, bone marrow and blood donation.

To mark the special month, the Empire State Building will be lit in green on April 21 st ; poet, playwright, and transplant recipient Sekou Sundiata will appear in a number of performances, starting in March, to draw attention to organ and tissue donation; and TRIO/Manhattan (Transplant Recipient International Organization) will host its annual ecumenical service at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Elaine Berg , president and CEO of the New York Organ Donor Network, thanked the Empire State and Mr. Sundiata for supporting National Donate Life Month because there is a critical need for donors. “Although the New York metropolitan region experienced the highest-ever number of organ and tissue donors last year, the numbers are still alarming. In our region, as many as 7,000 people are awaiting kidneys, hearts, livers, lungs, and pancreas. Thousands more need tissues. Our consent rate was 47 percent, compared to a national average of 55 percent.”

Across the nation, Ms. Berg said, nearly 90,000 people are waiting for organ transplants. She said that in an attempt to turn the desperate situation around in 2005, the Donor Network is appealing to New Yorkers to consider the empowering nature of organ and tissue donation. “With organ and tissue donation, individuals have the unique opportunity to make a decision that will live on long after they have gone. Every New Yorker can impact the lives of so many people: the person waiting for a transplant and their family, as well as the donor's family. It doesn't matter who you are or where you live in the Greater New York metropolitan area. You can change the world by becoming an organ and tissue donor.”

The Donor Network says that despite some of the myths surrounding donation, if people sign to become donors, hospitals will do everything they can to save their lives. Emergency workers and transplant staff at hospitals work separately to ensure that only deceased patients can be considered for donation. In addition, the Donor Network says, all major religions regard organ donation as being a gift of the highest moral order.

During National Donate Life Month, and throughout the year, New Yorkers can become organ and tissue donors by following three basic steps:

•  Sign the back of their New York State driver's license and obtain the signature of two witnesses.

•  Enroll in the New York State Organ and Tissue Donor Registry by clicking on the registry link on the home page of the New York Organ Donor Network's Web site www.donatelifeny.org . ( The donor registry is a confidential database maintained by the New York State Department of Health and it confirms the intention of the enrollee to become an organ and tissue donor. Since its inception in the summer of 2000, almost one million New Yorkers have enrolled.)

•  Once they have signed their driver's licenses and enrolled in the registry, they should tell their families about their decision, because permission is requested from next of kin before donation can occur.

As in previous years during April's National Donate Life Month, the New York Organ Donor Network will hold displays and educational events at hospitals and in public settings across the New York metropolitan area. Materials reinforcing the message, “You have the power,” will be distributed to heighten awareness about donation and to increase registry enrollment. In some instances, transplant recipients, donor families and living donors will speak about their experiences.

When the Empire State Building is lit in green on April 21, it will honor deceased and living organ donors, as well as to pay tribute to deceased donors who donated tissues such as skin, corneas and bone. Lydia Ruth , director of public relations at the Empire State Building , said, “Our managing company, Helmsley-Spear, Inc. , is pleased to be able to promote the life-saving cause of organ and tissue donation and to pay tribute to those who gave the gift of life. The lights will come on at sunset, and will remain on until midnight. The message about donation will be seen for 80 miles if it is a clear night.”

Sekou Sundiata's three-week run of Blessing the Boats at The Apollo Theater in Harlem officially commences on March 24 but he will present a special performance to mark National Donate Life Month on March 13. In all of his performances, the multi-talented Mr. Sundiata will raise public awareness about the high risk of kidney disease and the pressing need for organ donation particularly in minority communities. Mr. Sundiata was diagnosed with kidney disease in 1995. On the national list for a kidney transplant, he received dialysis for a year and a half until, in January 1999, when he received a kidney donated by his manager and close friend. He has dedicated himself to raising awareness about organ donation through his art.

Mr. Sundiata' special March 13 performance -- The Gift of Life Concert -- will take place at 8:00pm. The concert will feature an all star line-up including Ani DiFranco (in her first appearance on the Apollo's historic stage), the legendary Black Rock Coalition Orchestra, cult rock diva Nona Hendryx, renowned composer/songwriter Vernon Reid, saxophonist/poet/composer Oliver Lake, Grammy nominated jazz singer Carla Cook, R & B singer, and Grammy-winning songwriter Gordon Chambers. The event will also include special guests Danny Glover and renowned choreographer Ronald K. Brown. For ticket information, call The Apollo Theater Box Office at 212-531-5305.

Blessing the Boats will be presented March 24-27, March 31-April 3, and April 7-10 (Thursdays-Saturdays at 8:00pm and Sundays at 3:00pm).

Also during National Donate Life Month, the Donor Network will once again support TRIO/Manhattan , which will host an ecumenical service, “Remember and Rejoice,” at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Saturday, April 2 at 2:00pm. During this moving ceremony, donor families, living donors and transplant recipients will gather to celebrate the life-giving aspects of transplantation.

“Among those in attendance at St. Patrick's, as in years past, will be some of the transplant surgeons and transplant support staff who made the miraculous life-giving acts possible in the first place,” the Donor Network's Ms. Berg added. “When organ donor families, living donors, recipients and the medical community gather in one place, in the awe-inspiring setting of St. Patrick's, the true meaning of Donate Life Month shines through.”

Information tables about donation will be set up across the Greater New York metropolitan region during April, including at the following events:

April 8: Mount Sinai Medical Students and Community Health Community Health Community Committee- Health Fair – “Staying Alive in 2005,” 11:00 am -3:00 pm

April 13: A Health Fair, SUNY Old Westbury, 11:00am-3:00pm

April 16: An Alpha Phi Alpha and Delta Sigma Theta Event –Palisades Mall, 10:00am- 2:30pm

April 20: Southampton College Annual Spring Health Fair, 11:00am-2:00pm

April 23: A health fair at the Church of the Resurrection in Queens , 10:00am to 2:00pm

April 26: Community Awareness Day at York College in Queens , 11:00am to 3:30pm.

For more information about National Donate Life Month, and to enroll in the New York State Organ and Tissue Donor Registry, visit www.donatelifeny.org or call 1-800-GIFT-4-NY.

NEW YORK ORGAN DONOR NETWORK

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