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All Major Religions Support Life-Saving Donation
(NEW YORK, NY) November 1, 2005 - The New York Organ Donor Network, the nonprofit, federally-designated organ procurement organization serving the Greater New York metropolitan area, is asking New Yorkers to enroll in the New York State Organ and Tissue Donor Registry during National Donor Sabbath, which is celebrated November 11-13, 2005. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services endorses Donor Sabbath.
Of the 90,000 people waiting for organ transplants across the United States, approximately 7,000 live in the New York metro area. Each day, an average of 17 men, women and children of all races and ethnic backgrounds die in the United States because of the shortage of donated organs. Thousands more need tissues such as corneas, skin and heart-valves.
During Donor Sabbath and throughout the holiday season, the Donor Network will urge religious leaders of all faiths to share the message about life-saving organ and tissue donation with their worshipers. The organ procurement organization will partner with houses of worship and religious organizations in the New York metro area. Events for Donor Sabbath include: On November 13 there will be a 10 a.m. presentation about donation at Allen Ame Church in St. Albans; on November 17, a 7:30 p.m. presentation will take place at Little Neck Community Church; and on November 27, a 9:30 a.m. presentation about donation is scheduled for Grace Episcopal Church with Trinity Methodist Church at 113 Bay Street in City Island.
All major religions approve of organ donation as being an act of charity and love of the highest order. For example:
- Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prior to becoming Pope Benedict XVI, described organ donation as being "an act of love … so long as it is free and spontaneous." In a February 4, 1999, interview with the ZENIT International News Agency, Cardinal Ratzinger said that he was a registered organ donor. "To donate one's organs is an act of love that is morally licit, so long as it is free and spontaneous," he said. In 2001, Cardinal Edward Egan, Archbishop of New York, wrote in the New York Organ Donor Network publication On The Beat: "The commitment of one person to give the gift of life to another mirrors an essential foundation upon which the teachings of Christ and the theology of our Church are based."
- Similar views have been expressed in the Donor Network's On The Beat publication by t he Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes Jr., senior minister at The Riverside Church of New York City representing Protestants; Rabbi Dr. Moshe Tendler, Professor of Medical Ethics at Yeshiva University; Sheikh Omar S. Abu-Namous, Imam, Islamic Cultural Center of New York; and Robert Thurman, Chair of religious studies and Jey Tsong Khapa professor of Buddhist studies at Columbia University, New York City; president of Tibet House; and a former Tibetan Buddhist monk.
This year, the Donor Network says that the various National Donor Sabbath events will take place under the overarching theme of "Celebrations of Life." Donor Network President and CEO Elaine Berg said: "The Celebrations of Life motif will highlight the need for more organ and tissue donors by memorializing the lives of deceased donors, recognizing the role of living donors, and celebrating the miracles of transplantation and recipients. In particular, we want to honor our deceased donors by showing how much they lived life to the full—and then shared their joy with others through donation."
Ms. Berg said that Donor Sabbath is the perfect time for New Yorkers of all faiths to find out more about organ and tissue donation. "Just one organ donor can save up to eight lives; a tissue donor can help save up to 50 lives. We ask that New Yorkers enroll in the Donor Registry which is a confidential database administered by New York State Department of Health. They can do so online at www.donatelifeny.org. Once they have enrolled, they should tell their loved ones about their life-saving decision."
DATA FILE: DECEASED ORGAN DONORS IN NEW YORK METRO AREA
IN 2004, BY RELIGION
During 2004 in the Greater New York metropolitan area, there were 262 deceased organ donors. The data below indicates the known religious affiliations of 232 of them; the religious denominations of the remaining 30 deceased organ donors were not stated.
| CATHOLIC | 132 |
| PROTESTANT | 70 |
| JEWISH | 15 |
| HINDU | 5 |
| GREEK ORTHODOX | 4 |
| SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST | 3 |
| BUDDHIST | 2 |
| MUSLIM | 1 |
This raw information does not imply donor families consented to donation for religious reasons, nor does it shed light on the religious affiliations of those families that declined consent for organ donation. (Source: New York Organ Donor Network)
For more information about organ and tissue donation, and to enroll in the New York State Organ and Tissue Donor Registry, visit the New York Organ Donor Network's Web site at www.donatelifeny.org.
Media contact: Martin Woolf at 646-291-4460 or mwoolf@nyodn.org.
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