New York Organ Donor Network Urges Worshipers to Learn More About Organ Donation and to Sign the New York Donor Registry During the 8th National Donor Sabbath.
Donor Network Plans to Launch Long-Term Programs to Reach Religious Leaders and Houses of Worship - October 27, 2003
With more than 7,000 people in the Greater New York metropolitan area desperately waiting for organ transplants, and thousands of others needing tissues such as corneas, skin and heart valves, the New York Organ Donor Network is urging people to learn more about organ and tissue donation and enroll in the New York State Organ and Tissue Donor Registry during the Eighth Annual National Donor Sabbath observances from Friday, November 14 to Sunday the 16th. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services endorses Donor Sabbath.
Elaine Berg, President and CEO of the Donor Network, the federally designated, nonprofit organ procurement organization serving metro New York, says with the widening gap between those waiting for transplants and the low numbers of donors—the New York metro only had 40.5% of families consent to organ donation last year compared to 50% nationwide—her organization hopes that houses of worship representing many faiths will observe Donor Sabbath by encouraging congregants to discuss end of life decisions with their families and to enroll in the New York Organ and Tissue Donor Registry.
“The registry is a confidential database maintained by the New York State Department of Health, and which indicates intent to donate a gift of life,” says Ms. Berg. “Since its inception in June 2000, more than 668,000 New Yorkers have added their names to the registry. This makes it easier for family members to fulfill the wishes of their loved ones to consent to donation, should the situation arise where they are asked to consider that decision as required by federal law.”
Jane Best, a newly-appointed Public and Professional Education Specialist at the Donor Network, who is coordinating National Donor Sabbath for the organization, points out that all major religions encourage donation as one of the highest acts of charity. She says the Donor Network has received written endorsements from some of the most influential religious leaders in New York. “Cardinal Edward Egan, for instance, quotes Pope John Paul II who has said that donation of organs represents a type of heroism that builds up an authentic culture of life. Similar positive views about donation have been expressed by a Protestant leader, Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr., of The Riverside Church, as well as by Rabbi Moshe Tendler of Yeshiva University and Sheikh Omar Abu-Namous, Imam of the Islamic Cultural Center of New York. It is our hope that encouragement from such a diverse array of religious leaders will put an end to the false belief that religions are opposed to organ donation.”
This year, the Donor Network will commemorate National Donor Sabbath by launching a variety of long-term programs and by distributing information materials to houses of worship and religious organizations. Among the long-term programs to be introduced is a series of workshops and symposiums throughout the Greater New York metropolitan area designed to educate the interfaith community about the myths that surround the topic of organ and tissue donation. Over the next 12 months, the Donor Network will also appoint people to be Interfaith Ambassadors. These representatives will sponsor organ and tissue donation drives within their houses of worship, in their place of business, as well as in their local communities. The Donor Network also plans to develop a curriculum for religious institutions of higher education on the subject of donation.
THE NEED:
Close to 83,000 Americans are awaiting organ transplants, of which more than 7,000 are in the Greater New York metropolitan area. During 2002, there were only 205 organ donors in the entire New York metro area. This represented a consent rate by families of 40.5% compared to a national consent rate of 50%. Across the U.S., 17 people die every day for lack of donated organs. A new name is added to the national waiting list every 13 minutes. Tens of thousands of Americans need life-saving or life-improving tissue transplantation.
ORGAN DONATION BY RELIGION IN NEW YORK METRO ARE IN 2002:
According to data made available by the New York Organ Donor Network, the following table shows the stated religion of the 205 organ donors in the New York metro area during 2002. This information does not imply that donor families made the decision to donate for religious reasons.
| Baptist |
13 |
| Catholic |
112 |
| "Christian" |
10 |
| Church of England |
1 |
| Episcopal |
2 |
| Greek Orthodox |
2 |
| Hindu |
1 |
| Jehovah's Witnesses |
1 |
| Jewish |
9 |
| Lutheran |
2 |
| Methodist |
3 |
| Muslim |
2 |
| Non-Denominational |
1 |
| Pentecostal |
5 |
| Presbyterian |
1 |
| Protestant |
9 |
| Shinistu |
1 |
| Unitarian |
1 |
| Unknown |
29 |
| Grand Total |
205 |
NEW YORK ORGAN DONOR NETWORK:
The New York Organ Donor Network is the second largest federally designated nonprofit organ procurement organization in the United States. It serves 13 million people in the five boroughs of New York City; Long Island; Orange, Dutchess and Rockland Counties in New York; and Pike County, PA.
For more information on Donor Sabbath, including free brochures, bulletin notices or speakers, call the New York Organ Donor Network, 800-GIFT-4-NY, or 212-870-2240.
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