DONATE LIFE AMERICA LAUNCHES 'DONOR DESIGNATION COLLABORATIVE' TO PROPEL SIGN UPS ON STATE DONOR REGISTRIES

National Initiative Seeks to Increase Donor Designations to 100 Million by April 2008

RICHMOND, VA, November 3, 2006 - It is not just about the numbers - it is about who and what the numbers represent: lives hanging in the balance, and people who bring them hope. With the number of people waiting for a life-saving organ transplant quickly approaching 100,000, and the population of the United States eclipsing the 300 million mark, Donate Life America, a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to saving lives by inspiring people to be organ, eye and tissue donors, has launched a unified national effort to increase the number of Americans registered to be donors in their states to 100 million.

This effort, the Donor Designation Collaborative, is an important first step towards significantly increasing donor designations nationwide. It is also an important step for those awaiting life-saving organ transplants or life-enhancing cornea or tissue transplants, with statistics showing significant increases in organ, eye and tissue donation in states with effective donor registries.

"This is an extraordinary opportunity to save thousands more lives each year," said David Bosch, president of Donate Life America and director of communications and hospital development for Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network, the non-profit, federally designated organ and tissue recovery agency serving Illinois. "We currently estimate that only 20 percent of US residents have formally registered as organ donors in their state, totaling approximately 60 million registered organ donors. The Donor Designation Collaborative seeks to add another 40 million registered donors over the next 18 months, with the potential to honor the generous donation wishes of an additional 400,000 Americans just in the next couple of years."

This national collaborative effort was launched in New Orleans, La. on October 18, 2006 and featured teams representing 44 states, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia and Ontario, Canada. These teams - consisting of representatives from organ and tissue recovery agencies, motor vehicle departments, transplant centers, eye and tissue banks, state health departments, civic groups and corporate partners - will lead efforts to found new effective donor registries in states that do not currently operate a registry; improve the effectiveness of existing donor registries; and work diligently to promote these registries and secure millions of additional donor registrations.

"As someone who waited 25 months for a double-lung transplant, this is the type of groundbreaking work that gives hope to those waiting," said Trey Schwab, outreach coordinator for UW Health OPO in Madison Wisconsin, vice president of the Wisconsin Coalition on Donation, and a double-lung recipient. "The Donor Designation Collaborative is a powerful way to increase the number of donor registrations in each state. The real power of this initiative comes in helping people understand that when they have the opportunity to sign up on a state donor registry, they have the power to save the lives of eight people and touch many more through eye and tissue donation, and in helping states make the sign up process as easy as possible for their residents."

For further information, call David Fleming, Donate Life America, (804) 782-4840

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