New York, NY – October 25, 2007: During the 12th Annual National Donor Sabbath throughout the month of November, the New York Organ Donor Network urges religious leaders of all faiths and their congregations to help increase the number of enrollments in the New York State Organ and Tissue Donor Registry.

“The number of people waiting for organ transplants in the United States continues to increase at an alarming rate,” said Elaine Berg, president and CEO of the New York Organ Donor Network. “In fact, there are nearly 100,000 people waiting. Sadly, the organ donor shortage means that each day, as many as 17 lives are lost and a new name is added every 13 minutes. The harsh fact is that more than 40 percent of potential donors and their families in the greater New York metropolitan area ultimately do not choose to give the gifts of life.”

National Donor Sabbath is a time for religious leaders to emphasize to their communities that all major religions approve of organ donation as one of the greatest acts of charity available to human beings. To spread the message about donation, temples, churches, mosques, and other places of worship that observe National Donor Sabbath will do so each in their own fashion, from handing out brochures to including sermons about donation and guest speakers.

The Donor Network’s Elaine Berg reiterated that National Donor Sabbath is sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “The endorsement means that across the country, houses of worship are filled with words of encouragement and compassion about how one organ donor can save the lives of up to eight people,” Ms. Berg said.

“They hear about how one tissue donor can provide life-saving skin, bone and heart-valves that can benefit up to 50 more patients. In some instances, transplant recipients, donor families and individuals who are on the national list awaiting organ transplants are guest speakers at houses of worship. This makes the abstract very real, and hopefully will stir people to become donors.”

No matter how they mark the month of November, Ms. Berg said the New York Organ Donor Network hopes that New Yorkers will take action to save lives by enrolling in the New York State Organ and Tissue Donor Registry. The registry is a confidential database administered by New York’s Department of Health and it can only be accessed by staff members of the New York Organ Donor Network to verify whether a potential organ and tissue donor has enrolled.

Ms. Berg said: “The donor registry contains more than 1.3 million names of New Yorkers who have committed to donation. It is important in such a densely populated region such as ours to add millions of more names. So we appeal for more enrollments and then for people to inform their loved ones about their decision.”

Throughout National Donor Sabbath, from November 1 through November 30, New Yorkers can enroll online in the donor registry at www.donatelifeny.org.

Houses of Worship: For free materials for National Donor Sabbath, contact Karen Cummings at the New York Organ Donor Network, 646-291-4454

Media: For more information, contact Martin Woolf, 646-291-4460.