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April 17 is ‘Donate Life Day’ in Rochester
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Wear blue and green, attend ‘Walk of Remembrance’ and flag ceremony to commemorate
ROCHESTER, Minn. — Friday, April 17, is “Donate Life Day” in Rochester, an annual recognition to raise awareness about organ donation. LifeSource, Gift of Life Transplant House and Mayo Clinic Transplant Center are hosting a “Walk of Remembrance” and flag ceremony starting at 4:30 p.m. on the Saint Marys Hospital campus. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend.
More than 120,000 people are waiting for an organ transplant in the United States. Nearly 2,000 of those are children. Mayo Clinic has over 3,000 patients on the waiting list for an organ transplant. Every 10 minutes another name is added to the national waiting list. An average of 21 people die each day in the United States waiting for transplants that can't take place because of the shortage of donated organs.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Ginger Plumbo, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, Email: newsbureau@mayo.edu
April is National Donate Life Month, and events are happening across the country to increase support for organ, tissue and eye donation. In addition to the Donate Life Day event in Rochester, there are several other ways to participate or observe Donate Life Month:
- “Wear Blue & Green Day,” Friday, April 17, and tell your friends and family about your wishes to be an organ donor.
- Take a photo of your green “Donate Life” bracelet, or your blue and green outfits (creativity encouraged!) and post it to the “Transplantation at Mayo Clinic” Facebook page. Use hashtag #donatelife if you post on your own Facebook or Twitter.
- Attend the Donate Life Day “Walk of Remembrance” and flag ceremony
- 4:30 p.m. – Flag Ceremony at Saint Mary’s with Tribute to Donors and their Families by Sister Tierney Trueman
- Meet at Francis Building flagpole
- Followed by the Walk of Remembrance from Saint Marys to Gift of Life Transplant House, led by John Thistle, M.D., retired Mayo Clinic physician and bagpiper from Rochester Caledonian Pipe and Drum Corps.
- 4:30 p.m. – Flag Ceremony at Saint Mary’s with Tribute to Donors and their Families by Sister Tierney Trueman
- Followed by, flag ceremony at Gift of Life Transplant House. Gift of Life Transplant House is located at 705 Second Street SW.
- Donor families and transplant recipients raise Donate Life Flag
- Timucin Taner, M.D., Ph.D., liver transplant surgeon, will speak
- Reception to follow
For more information on how to register as a donor, visit http://www.donatelifemidwest.org/mn/.
About Donate Life Month
National Donate Life Month (NDLM) was instituted by Donate Life America and its partnering organizations in 2003. Celebrated in April each year, NDLM features an entire month of local, regional and national activities to help encourage Americans to register as organ, tissue and eye donors and to celebrate those who have saved lives through the gift of donation.
About Gift of Life Transplant House
Gift of Life Transplant House was founded in 1984 by kidney transplant patient Ed Pompeian. His vision and mission was to provide Mayo Clinic transplant patients with high-quality affordable accommodations in a supportive homelike environment.
Gift of Life provides services for solid organ, bone marrow and stem cell transplant patients and their families. It is a place of compassion, healing and hope for patients of all ages from all over the world. In this supportive environment, the Gift of Life Transplant House helps ease the impact of the complex medical, financial, emotional and spiritual burdens families are faced with day to day on their transplant journey.
Gift of Life Transplant House in Rochester, Minnesota, is a not-for-profit independent Hospital Hospitality House and a member of the Healthcare Hospitality Network (HHN).
About Transplantation at Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic has one of the nation’s largest and most experienced transplant practices, with campuses in Minnesota, Arizona and Florida. Over 200 doctors in transplant medicine and surgery perform about 1,800 transplants a year, and have a long track record of excellent outcomes. The heart transplant program at Mayo Clinic in Rochester is part of the integrated William J. von Liebig Transplant Center, where more than 800 solid organ and blood and marrow transplants take place every year. The opportunity to collaborate with multiple transplant programs allows Mayo Clinic patients access to a multidisciplinary transplant team and the opportunity for multiorgan transplantation if necessary.
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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to medical research and education, and providing expert, whole-person care to everyone who needs healing. For more information, visit http://www.mayoclinic.org/about-mayo-clinic and https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/.
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