Aurora mayor and council proclaim city as Colorado’s first Donate Life community partner

In an effort to raise awareness of organ, eye and tissue donation, Aurora city government and partners work with Donor Alliance and residents affected by donation to celebrate the cause.

DENVER- November 29, 2022- In a solid show of grassroots support, Aurora city government is declaring its support for organ, eye and tissue donation. These efforts are in support of the need to increase awareness and promotion of donation, while honoring the generosity of organ, eye and tissue donors and their families. This proclamation also commemorates all transplant donors and recipients in the Aurora community.

To save and heal lives and create a culture where donation is embraced as a fundamental human responsibility, Donate Life Colorado has partnered with the City of Aurora on the first official Donate Life Community program in Colorado. The program aims to inspire Aurora to work with its Donate Life recovery agencies to promote organ, eye and tissue donation among its community residents through education and donor registration opportunities.

“As home to two major transplant centers with the University of Colorado Hospital and Children’s Hospital Colorado, Aurora is an ideal location to be the first Donate Life community in Colorado,” said Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman. “Aurora is a diverse city, with one in five residents born outside the United States, and more than 160 languages spoken, and this partnership is a great opportunity to encourage donor registration to benefit underrepresented communities. I am grateful for all the Aurorans who have already taken the simple steps to register as organ, eye and tissue donors, and I hope everyone else will learn more about the benefits of donor registration through this initiative.”

Donor Alliance continues to invest in tools, technology and personnel to increase life-saving organ, eye and tissue donation. In 2021, Donor Alliance invested in preservation equipment to increase liver transplants. More than one million residents signed up to become donors in 2021, with more than 980,000 Coloradans and more than 83,000 Wyoming residents adding their names to organ, eye and tissue donor registries. Both Colorado and Wyoming also maintained some of the highest donor designation rates in the country, or the percentage of people signing up on state donor registries, at 67% and 61% respectively, well above the national average of 49%, according to Donate Life America.

“This widespread and localized show of support is testament to the impact donation and transplantation have on our Colorado communities. Our state has one of the highest donation rates in the country, which is a testament to the generosity of our donors, donor families, Aurora residents and people across Colorado,” said Jennifer Prinz, president and CEO of Donor Alliance. “You may be surprised to learn that more than 1,500 people in our region are still waiting for a life-saving transplant, so it is critical that we continue to speak out about the importance of the cause. We encourage citizens to look for alliance activities across Aurora in 2022 and 2023, and to consider giving the gift of life by registering as organ, eye and tissue donors.”

With more than 398,000 residents, Aurora is Colorado’s third-largest city and boasts some of the nation’s top medical centers performing transplants at the Anschutz Medical Campus. Coloradans can register their decision to be a donor by saying “Yes” each time they obtain or renew their driver’s license or state ID, or at www.DoneVidaColorado.org at any time.

Donor Alliance is a non-profit organization dedicated to saving lives through organ and tissue donation and transplantation. As the organ and tissue procurement agency for Colorado and most of Wyoming, Donor Alliance serves more than 6.2 million residents and more than 110 hospitals. Donor Alliance adheres to the highest medical, regulatory and ethical standards, and meets every performance standard. By respectfully working with the families of organ and tissue donors, maintaining partnerships with hospitals, educating residents on the life-saving benefits of donation and inspiring them to sign up on the state’s donor registry, Donor Alliance is able to save lives through organ and tissue donation and transplantation. Colorado and Wyoming boast some of the highest rates of donor registration in the country, which directly translates to more lives saved and healed through organ and tissue transplantation. Donor Alliance is one of 58 federally designated organizations of its kind in the United States. For more information, visit DonorAlliance.org or the Donate Life Colorado or Donate Life Wyoming Facebook pages.