Jennifer Moe
Director of Communications/PR
Donor Alliance
303-329-4747
COLORADO’S ORGAN AND TISSUE DONATION COMMUNITY TO RE-LAUNCH COLORADO DONOR REGISTRY AS DONATE LIFE COLORADO
Initiative seeks to increase the number of registered organ and tissue donors in Colorado, making the state number one in the nation
DENVER – April 16, 2009 – Today, in celebration of National Donate Life Month, Senator Chris Romer joined Colorado’s organ and tissue donation community at the State Capitol to announce the re-launch of the Colorado Donor Registry to Donate Life Colorado. With this re-launch, Colorado initiates a campaign to increase the donor designation rate – the percentage of people who enroll as registered donors when obtaining or renewing their driver’s license – to 71 percent over the next 24 months.
Designated in 2003 as National Donate Life Month, April has been set aside for increased national focus on the critical need for organ, tissue, marrow and blood donors.
“Organ donors save the lives of more than 28,000 Americans on average each year and close to half a million Americans benefit from the lifesaving and healing gifts organ and tissue donors provide,” said Sue Dunn, president and CEO of Donor Alliance, the organ procurement organization and American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB) accredited tissue bank serving Colorado and most of Wyoming. “Despite these statistics, one of this country’s most serious health issues is the widening gap between the supply of organs for transplant and the growing demand.”
According to Dunn, today more than 100,000 people in the United States and more than 1,800 people in Colorado and Wyoming are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant. Of those waiting in Colorado, 65 percent are in need of a kidney and one out of five current transplant candidates has been on the waiting list for five years or longer.
“Those waiting for a transplant need our help and Colorado is meeting the challenge,” Dunn said. “Each of the 566,000 Coloradans who registered to be organ donors last year has the potential to save up to eight lives through organ donation and save and heal more than 100 through the gift of tissue donation.”
“In 2008, Colorado’s donor designation rate ranked second nationally with 63 percent of people obtaining or renewing their driver’s license saying yes to donation. Our goal is to be number one,” said Charlene Hill, executive director of the Donor Awareness Council, the nonprofit coalition formed to increase organ and tissue donation through public awareness and education in Colorado and Wyoming.
As a step toward meeting that goal, Colorado’s legislature has adopted Senate Joint Resolution 09-038 which promotes the donor registry to all Colorado citizens, making the Donate Life Colorado registry more mainstream and accessible by directing Colorado’s state agencies to provide access through their Web sites.
“Donation does make a difference. It saved my life,” said Chris Klug, liver recipient, national champion and Olympic medalist. “Everyday, I thank my donor and my donor’s family for giving me the gift of life. I encourage all Coloradans who have not yet registered their decision to be donors to do so today.”
According to Hill, Coloradans can save lives regardless of their age or health. For example, it is possible to register to be an organ, eye or tissue donor even after having suffered from common diseases like Diabetes, which can lead to high cholesterol or heart disease, or cancer.
Coloradans can register their decision to be an organ, eye and tissue donor in the following ways:
• Online at DonateLifeColorado.org.
• At the Division of Motor Vehicles the next time you obtain or renew your driver’s license.
• By calling 1-888-256-4386.
For more information, please visit DonateLifeColorado.org
We are pleased to announce the creation of Colorado’s new specialty Donate Life license plate. CLICK HERE.
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