NEW ORLEANS – June 23, 2010– Donate Life Louisiana (DLL) is excited to announce Louisiana now ranks first in the nation for Donor Designations. The Donor Designation Rate is the number of Louisiana citizens registering as organ donors at the Offices of Motor Vehicles. Statistics reported by Donate Life America show that more than 64% of those obtaining driver’s licenses and state IDs in Louisiana say yes when asked if they would like to register as an organ and tissue donor. The average national rate is 38%.

Louisiana’s Organ and Tissue Donor Registry is more than 1.9 million names strong. However, even with this great success, there is still more work to be done. One person is added to the national transplant waiting list every 12 minutes, and an average of 18 people die while waiting for a life saving organ transplant. The national waiting list stands at almost 108,000 – including nearly 2,000 men, women and children in Louisiana.

Kelly Ranum, Executive Director Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency and DLL Member states, “We are pleased with our progress but our mission is not complete until no lives are lost due to the lack of organs available for transplantation.”

According to Jeanette Slakey, DLL member and Executive Director of Legacy Donor Foundation, “This milestone shows the generosity of the people in Louisiana in recognizing the critical need for organ donation. This could not have been achieved without the important partnership we have with the Office of Motor Vehicles.”

“The Office of Motor Vehicles is committed to working with Donate Life Louisiana to increase the number of registered organ and tissue donors by asking each of our customers about their wishes regarding donation. We have a professional commitment but also a personal one – many of our staff have been personally affected by donation and transplantation,” says Kay Hodges, Commissioner of the Office of Motor Vehicles.

Becoming an organ and tissue donor is as simple as adding the donor heart designation to your driver’s license, learner’s permit or state identification card. Let family members know about your decision to register as an organ, tissue and eye donor, and sign up at your local Office of Motor Vehicles or by visiting www.donatelifeLA.org.

Donate Life Louisiana (DLL) is a state-wide alliance of organizations, committed to increasing the number of registered organ, tissue and eye donors through educational programs and awareness campaigns.

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Today, there are more than 106,000 people nationwide waiting for life-saving organ donations, with 1,800 of those individuals living in Louisiana. In 2007, 9,612 people were removed from the waiting list because they died or were too sick to receive a transplant. Of those, 150 were in Louisiana.

More compellingly, one donor has the ability to save up to nine lives, restore sight to two people, and enhance the lives up to 50 more through tissue donation.

Established in 2003, National Donate Life Month serves to heighten donor awareness and increase registered donors. There are currently 1.8 million names on Louisiana’s Organ and Tissue Donor Registry; which is almost 40 percent of the state’s population. Donate Life Louisiana wants to increase that number to 2.2 million, or 50 percent of the state’s population, by 2014.

“This is goal is attainable and extremely critical,” says Jeanette Slakey, executive director of the Legacy Donor Foundation. “The need of organ, eye and tissue donation vastly exceeds the number of donors and an average of 20 people die each day waiting for a life-saving organ transplant.”

The Legacy Donor Foundation partnered with the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency (LOPA) to form Donate Life Louisiana and bring a cohesive face to organ donation education and awareness in Louisiana.

In 2008, Donate Life Louisiana launched a successful marketing campaign that utilizes billboards across the state featuring the eye-catching phrase. The campaign urges individuals to registers as an organ donor and display their support with a small heart on their drivers’ licenses.

Although Louisiana’s Organ and Tissue Donor Registry is 1.8 million names strong, there are still myths and misconceptions that prevent people from registering as an organ donor. Anyone can potentially be a donor regardless of age, race or medical history. It is illegal to buy or sell organs for translation or to distribute organs based on wealth, citizenship or celebrity status. Donation is no cost to the donor or their family, does not prevent open casket funerals and is supported by all major religions and even seen as an unselfish act of kindness. In addition, the decision to donate will not interfere with life-saving medical care.

Registering as an organ and tissue donor is as simple as adding the donor heart designation to your driver’s license, learner’s permit or state identification card. For more information, please visit www.donatelifela.org.

Download Donate Life America’s new, free “In Case of Emergency” (ICE) app for your iPhone today!  Together, we can make it the #1 free app and help first responders in their lifesaving efforts.   Post this status to your account and tell all your friends to visit:  www.ice-app.net.

The commercial promotes the very same myths and untruths that have taken many years to try to dispel, and that do deep harm to a community in need of life saving organ transplants.

The commercial erodes public trust in the donation process and is extremely offensive to donor families.  The basic fact is that, while the candidate is trying to win an election, Legacy Donor Foundation, LOPA, Southern Eye Bank, Donate Life Louisiana, Louisiana Transplant centers and doctors across the state are trying to save lives.

We ask the candidate to pull this damaging and deceptive political ad immediately and to apologize to the donor families and transplant recipients who have been hurt by it. This gross misrepresentation of the medical profession across the board has caused serious concern for many citizens in our community.

For facts about organ donation, visit www.donatelifela.org.

April 7, 2010   New Orleans Hornets vs Charlotte Bobcats

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