(New York, N.Y.) February 26th, 2007 - There are more than 400,000 organ transplant recipients in the United States while thousands of others benefit from the donation of eye and tissues such as corneas, skin, bone and heart-valves. Despite the success rates of life-saving transplants, nearly 95,000 people still need organ transplants in the U.S., and thousands more need tissues. In New York State alone, approximately 8,500 people await organ transplants. As many as 6,000 New Yorkers need kidneys; 2,000 need livers; and 260 New Yorkers are clinging to life, waiting for hearts.

Because of the urgent need for more donors, New Yorkers are strongly urged by the New York Organ Donor Network to enroll in the New York State Organ and Tissue Donor Registry during National Donate Life Month in April. The month is designated by the federal government to raise awareness about the need for organ, tissue, blood and bone marrow donors.

The Donor Network's campaign to increase donor enrollments is being carried out as part of a national initiative to increase the number of donor enrollments in the nation's various registries to 100 million. This will approximately double the current number, estimated to be between 50 and 60 million or 20% of the American public. More than 1.2 million names are already entered into New York State's donor registry, a confidential database administered by the state's department of health. The registry can only be accessed by hospital staff and employees of the state's four federally designated nonprofit organ procurement organizations (OPOs) at the time of possible organ, eye and tissue donation. The New York Organ Donor Network is the OPO serving 13 million people in the greater New York metropolitan area.

Elaine Berg, Donor Network president and CEO, explained that in many instances people do not become donors because they have been led to believe certain myths. "For example," Ms. Berg said, "there is a false claim that doctors will not do all they can to save a patient's life if they know he or she wants to be an organ donor. On the contrary, donation can only occur after a patient has been declared brain dead by physicians who are not affiliated with the transplant recovery teams."

Another myth is that organ and tissue donation is opposed by religions. "In reality," Ms. Berg said, "all major religions view organ donation as being the noblest form of giving. And to those who think they may be too old to be donors, we have had several organ donors who have been 93-years-old."

Numerous programs and events will be held in the greater New York metropolitan area during National Donate Life Month. For example:

• Legislative Education Program: New York Organ Donor Network volunteers, including donor families and transplant recipients, will visit New York State legislators in their district offices to thank them for voting to pass a packet of bills in 2006 designed to increase organ, eye and tissue donation. Linked to the campaign to increase enrollments in the various donor registries nationwide to 100 million, the legislators will be informed as to how their constituents can enroll in New York's registry. The outreach to legislators will be carried out in collaboration with the New York Alliance for Donation, Inc. and the Greater New York Coalition on Donation.
  
  
• Remember and Rejoice at St. Patrick's Cathedral: On Saturday, April 14, Transplant Recipient International Organization (TRIO) of Manhattan will hosts its 12th Annual Ecumenical Service, "Remember and Rejoice," from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan. The general public is invited to join TRIO to remember donors and their families, and to rejoice with recipients. No tickets or reservations necessary.
  
  
• Hospital-Based Programs: Many of the area hospitals will hold special programs to encourage donor registry enrollment and to honor donors and their families. For instance, flag-raising ceremonies for National Donate Life Month will take place at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset on April 9, at 12 noon, and at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park on April 11 at 1 p.m. Bellevue Hospital Center in Manhattan will honor donors and transplant recipients during a tree-planting ceremony in late April.
  
  

To learn more about donation during National Donate Life Month, and to enroll in the New York State Organ and Tissue Donor Registry, visit the Web site of the New York Organ Donor Network at www.donatelifeny.org.

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