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Currently in its third year, Organ Donor Enrollment Day brings individuals and organizations together to help save the lives of the 120,000 Americans – 10,000 of whom live in New York – currently waiting for a life-saving transplant. This year, 3,700 new enrollments were processed through the Oct. 4th promotion.
“We know New Yorkers overwhelmingly support organ and tissue donation, so the event is about turning that support into action and registering as many donors as possible,” said Helen Irving, CEO and president of LiveOnNY. “We're excited to see so many New Yorkers come together for a third year in a row to save lives and send a message of hope to the New Yorkers waiting for a transplant.”
The statistics surrounding organ donation are astounding: every 18 hours a New Yorker dies waiting for an organ transplant, due in large part to the limited number of donors available. Despite the fact that 92 percent of New Yorkers support organ donation, just 30 percent of the state's population is registered.
For many of the hundreds of volunteers working to promote donor sign-ups, Organ Donor Enrollment Day is deeply personal. For example, Prasha Tuladhar, a lung transplant recipient, gave back to the network that saved her life by working to help register as many new donors as possible. For Dashia Mcleod, a 31-year-old awaiting a new heart, working to increase the state's donor list offers support and hope for both herself and the thousands of other New Yorkers seeking a life-saving transplant.
For more information about Organ Donor Enrollment Day and LiveOnNY, click here.
