Mayo Regional Hospital celebrates National Donate Life Month
DOVER-FOXCROFT — April is National Donate Life Month. Every year, Donate Life America leads the celebration of National Donate Life Month (NDLM) to focus national attention on organ, eye and tissue donation and transplantation — to share the importance of registering your decision to be a donor, honor deceased and living donors and celebrate the lifesaving and healing gift of transplantation. Mayo Regional Hospital will be participating in the month-long celebration.
“This April, we want to remind everyone that they can help save a life. Registering your decision to be an organ, eye and tissue donor takes less than a minute and gives hope to those waiting. The decision to register as a donor is the beginning of a story that may bring life and healing to more than 75 people, their families and their communities,” says Melissa Ware, surgical director at Mayo Regional Hospital.
National Donate Life Month (NDLM) has three national elements and feature celebrations: National Donate Life Month Artwork, National Donate Life Blue & Green Day on April 12 and National Pediatric Transplant Week from April 22-26.
National Donate Life Month Artwork, to help illustrate the message of donation Donate Life America (DLA) creates unique artwork for each National Donate Life Month. The 2019 NDLM art was inspired by bicycles and the phrase, “Life is a beautiful ride.”
Bicycles serve as a symbol of progress, renewal and the moving circle of life. We each carry the potential to help make life a beautiful ride for ourselves and then for others by registering as a donor, considering living donation, being a caregiver and championing the Donate Life cause. The NDLM bicycle theme and art will be incorporated into celebrations and events across the country during April. More information and public resources are available at DonateLife.net/ndlm/.
On National Donate Life Blue & Green Day, the public is encouraged to wear blue and green Donate Life colors, hold events and partner with local restaurants, malls, media and community organizations to spread awareness about organ, eye and tissue donation and transplantation. There is also a public Blue & Green Day photo contest through the Donate Life America Facebook page (facebook.com/DonateLife) for everyone to show their creative blue and green spirit. More information and public resources are available at DonateLife.net/blue-green-day/.
The last week of April is dedicated to kids. National Pediatric Transplant Week provides a platform to talk about the potential of ending the pediatric waiting list, to share innovative work and patient stories of transplant candidates and recipients and to honor donor families whose children have saved and healed lives through donation. More information and public resources are available at DonateLife.net/pediatric-transplant-week.
Donate Life America (DLA) partners with the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the American Society of Transplantation (AST) and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS) to celebrate and promote National Pediatric Transplant Week.
During April Donate Life America celebrates that 58 percent of U.S. adults have registered their decision to make life possible as organ, eye and tissue donors at the time of their death. DLA is also dedicated to bringing attention to the national transplant waiting list, 115,000 people are currently waiting for a lifesaving transplant. On average, 22 people die each day because the organ they need is not donated in time — almost one person dying every hour. Thousands more people are waiting for lifesaving and healing eye and tissue transplants. You can help by registering your decision to be an organ, eye and tissue donor and learning more about living donation.
You can register your decision to be an organ, eye and tissue donor at RegisterMe.org or in the Medical ID tab of your iPhone Health app. To learn more about being a living donor, please visit DonateLife.net.