New York, N.Y – FEBUARY 1, 2008 - During Black History Month in February, the New York Organ Donor Network celebrates the lives of individuals such as Samuel Koontz, the first African-American transplant surgeon to perform a kidney transplant. That transplant took place in 1964. Also a cause for celebration: More than 4,500 African-Americans nationwide were able to extend their lives in 2007 because they received organ transplants in the United States.

However, even as these major accomplishments are recognized, the stark truth is that on average 17 people die each day in the United States while waiting for life-saving transplants. Five of those individuals are African-American. For this reason, the New York Organ Donor Network is dramatically seeking to increase the number of organ and tissue donors during Black History Month. It is asking every New Yorker of African origin to become a donor.

“Each individual can make a difference to the thousands who are waiting for organs - in the case of kidneys, an average of five to seven years - by signing up on the New York State Donor Registry” said Elaine Berg, president and CEO of the New York Organ Donor Network. “We can change these staggering statistics very simply by signing up on the registry and telling our family our wishes.”

The New York State Organ and Tissue Donor Registry is a confidential database administered by New York’s Department of Health. The Donor Network is the nonprofit, federally designated organ procurement organization serving the greater New York metropolitan area.

The need for donors is critical. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), there are 27,797 African-Americans waiting for organ transplants across the United States. In New York State alone, there are 2,669 African-Americans waiting. The largest need for transplantation in the black community is for kidneys, with more than 2,400 individuals waiting in New York State.

In 2007, of the 322 deceased organ donors in the greater New York metropolitan area, a total of 82 were African-American. Although that translates into an increase of five African-American donors compared to 2006, the organ donation consent rate among African-Americans actually dropped by two percent to 50 percent in 2007.

The New York Organ Donor Network invites New Yorkers to learn more about organ and tissue donation by visiting its Web site at www.donatelifeny.org. The site also offers

a link to the New York State Organ and Tissue Donor Registry, so that people can enroll online in the database.

To participate in Black History Month contact Karen Cummings at the New York Organ Donor Network at 646-291-4454.