Held on National Donor Day to raise awareness about lifesaving, healing benefits of organ, eye, and tissue donation

DENVER – February 15, 2024 – A group of Colorado organizations all connected around organ, eye and tissue donation came together on Valentine’s Day for the one mission – to inspire people to share love and save and heal lives in our community. February 14 also marked National Donor Day, an observance dedicated to raising awareness about donation for transplantation and honoring the lifesaving generosity of donors and their families. The group, known as the Donate Life Colorado State Team, partnered with Lionsgate to host a free pre-screening of the movie Ordinary Angels last night at the Regal UA Colorado Center in Denver.

Ordinary Angels stars Academy Award winner Hilary Swank and is an inspiring true story of a town that came together during a historic snowstorm in Louisville back in 1994 to help a three-year-old girl receive a lifesaving liver transplant. The film shows the power of community coming together to save and heal lives, like the Donate Life Colorado State Team. Members of the state team include Donor Alliance, Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank, Chris Klug Foundation, Evan Spear Foundation, AlloSource, as well as donor families and transplant recipients.

“All boats rise with the same tide. This is an opportunity for our community partners to get together and to educate and inspire people to register to be a donor and share their decision with their family,” said Cheryl Talley, co-chair of the Donate Life Colorado State Team. “The wait list does not wait. There are currently 1,300 people in Colorado and Wyoming waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant.”

“Our work of saving and healing lives does not happen alone,” said Jennifer Venerable, co-chair of the Donate Life Colorado State Team. “It is a product of partnerships and communities and, like this movie, Ordinary Angels, that say Yes to donation every single day.”

Ordinary Angels would not exist if it were not for the generous donor and their family who made the decision to give the gift of life. One person can save up to eight lives through organ donation and save and heal up to 75 lives through tissue donation. Each year, tissue transplants provide hope to tens of thousands of people suffering from injury, disease, trauma, or blindness. People can register to be an organ, eye, and tissue donor the next time they obtain or renew their driver license or state ID at the DMV, or anytime at DonateLifeColorado.org.

People can also make the brave decision to register as a living donor at a transplant center. Through living donation, there are lifesaving gifts that can be provided today including kidney, which is the most needed organ. More than 85% of people on the transplant waiting list need a kidney. For more information, visit the National Donate Life Living Donor Registry.

About Donate Life State Teams

Colorado joined other Donate Life State Teams across the country to host exclusive pre-screenings of Ordinary Angels on National Donor Day. Donate Life State Teams play a vital role in Donate Life America’s work and include members of the donation and transplant community, government agencies, motor vehicle departments, hospital associations, and recipients and donor families. For more information about getting involved on a national level with Donate Life America, please visit donatelife.net.