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H R S A News U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Health Resources and Services Administration

HRSA NEWS ROOM
http://newsroom.hrsa.gov


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 17, 2004
Contact: HRSA Press Office
301-443-3376

HHS Honors 15 Organ Donor Organizations

Organ donor organizations in 15 states were honored yesterday for their contributions to HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson’s Workplace Partnership for Life initiative, which encourages private companies and organizations to provide donation education to their employees or members. To date, nearly 9,600 groups have joined the national initiative.
 
The 15 organizations were part of a pilot project that looked at innovative ways to recruit new Workplace partners, provide better assistance to new and current partners, and document successful activities that can be replicated around the country.   Since October 2003, when the pilot began, more than 1,000 new Workplace Partners have been recruited.   The honorees are part of a nationwide network of organ and blood donor groups that provide ongoing support to the Workplace Partnership. The organizations are:

  • Donor Network of Arizona
  • Golden State Donor Services (California)
  • LifeLink of Georgia
  • Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network (Illinois)
  • Iowa Donor Network
  • New Jersey Organ & Tissue Sharing Network
  • New Mexico Donor Services
  • Upstate New York Transplant Services
  • Carolina Donor Services (North Carolina)
  • Western North Carolina Organ & Tissue Donation Initiative
  • LifeBanc (Ohio)
  • Gift of Life Donor Program (Pennsylvania/Delaware)
  • Mid-South Transplant Foundation (Tennessee)
  • LifeGift Organ Donation Center (Texas)
  • Utah Coalition for Organ, Eye & Tissue Donation
“The Workplace Partnership gets employers and employees working together to save lives,” said Secretary Thompson.   “These honorees move us closer to our ultimate goal of donation-friendly workplaces across America.”
 
Elizabeth M. Duke, Ph.D., administrator of HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration, presented the awards at the annual meeting of the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations in Chicago. “These organizations are leading the way in building local coalitions that make it possible to increase organ and blood donations and give hope to the 85,000 people still waiting for transplants,” Duke said.   
 
The Bush Administration is committed to increasing organ and tissue donation. Nearly $25 million is included in the President's 2005 budget proposal for organ procurement and transplantation efforts, with an additional $23 million designated to support a bone marrow donor registry. To reduce costs for living donors, the President recently signed into law the Organ Donation and Recovery Improvement Act, authorizing grants for travel reimbursement to potential donors.
 
During his first 100 days in office, Secretary Thompson launched the Gift of Life Donation Initiative to focus national attention on the urgent need for donors. Under this initiative, several new efforts have been implemented, including the creation of the Workplace Partnership for Life campaign, the development of a model donor card, the Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative that targets the nation’s largest hospitals, and a new donor education program designed for high school students.
 
More information about the Gift of Life Donation Initiative is available at www.organdonor.gov.

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