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National Health Resources and Services Administration Announces Initiative to Register 400,000 New Organ Donors By February 2007

Posted on: Wednesday, 18 October 2006, 21:00 CDT

NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- At a Second National Learning Congress on Organ Donation and Transplantation event hosted by Tulane University Hospital & Clinic today, Dr. Jim Burdick, Director of Division of Transplantation for Health & Human Services, announced an initiative that strives to register up to 400,000 new organ donors throughout the United States within a 12-week period.

"'Give Five - Save Lives' is an opportunity for businesses and organizations to educate employees about organ and tissue donation and encourage them to designate their donation decisions," says Dr. Burdick. "This important initiative is part of the 12 Weeks of Giving campaign that aims to register 400,000 new organ donors by February 12, 2007, helping to reduce the critical shortage of organ donors in America."

To institute the "Give Five - Save Lives" initiative, employers select three dates between November 20, 2006 and February 12, 2007 and alert employees that five minutes of the workday will be set aside for them to register their donation decisions (either online or using donor cards). Local organ procurement organizations will provide information about organ donation to each participating organization.

At the event today, Tulane University Hospital & Clinic (TUHC) was the first to pledge its support of the "Give Five - Save Lives" initiative. The downtown New Orleans hospital will implement the program starting on November 20th. "Give Five - Save Lives" will educate 1,300 TUHC employees about organ donation and give them the opportunity to register in five minutes.

Also at the event, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco promised to support the initiative within Louisiana state government and its agencies, reaching thousands of potential organ donors.

"Tulane University Hospital & Clinic has performed 129 organ transplants within the past six months," says Dr. Sander Florman, Director of Abdominal Transplant at TUHC, "but there are still more than 1,600 Louisianans and 93,000 Americans awaiting transplants. Each person who makes the decision to be an organ donor can potentially save up to 50 lives and take up to nine people off the organ transplant waiting list."

"We must address the critical shortage of organ donors in the nation and in Louisiana," said Governor Blanco, a designated organ donor. "This effort gives individuals a convenient opportunity to be a part of the solution and I encourage everyone to give organ donation serious consideration."

For more information about "Give Five - Save Lives," please visit http://www.akoyaonline.com/wpfl . Organizations interested in launching the program at their offices can also call their local organ procurement organizations.

Tulane University Hospital & Clinic is a teaching hospital system located at 1415 Tulane Avenue in downtown New Orleans. TUHC is a partnership facility jointly owned by HCA and Tulane University. For more information about Tulane University Hospital & Clinic, please visit http://www.tuhc.com/ .

Tulane University Hospital & Clinic

CONTACT: media, Libby Wunsch of Keating Magee Public Relations,+1-504-299-7181, or cell, +1-985-869-0470, or Libbyw@KeatingMagee.com ,forTulane University Hospital & Clinic

Web site: http://www.tuhc.com/http://www.akoyaonline.com/wpfl

Source: PRNewswire

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