New York, NY, June 5, 2007: The New York Organ Donor Network has expressed sadness following the June 4 plane crash over Lake Michigan involving transplant professionals from the University of Michigan Medical Center. The plane was transporting a lung to a potential transplant patient in Ann Arbor.

New York Organ Donor Network President and CEO Elaine Berg said: "On behalf of our board of directors, staff and volunteers, we wish to convey our deepest sympathy for those who lost their lives while undertaking such a noble cause. We also extend our sympathy to their loved ones, their colleagues, and to the patient who would have benefited at that time from an organ transplant."

Those who lost their lives were Dr. Martinus Spoor, Richard Chenault II, Dr. David Ashburn and Ricky LaPensee, and pilots Dennis Hoyes and Bill Serra.

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