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Date: Thursday, Nov. 5, 1998 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: HRSA Press Office (301) 443-3376
National Donor Sabbath is part of the National Organ and Tissue Donation Initiative, launched last December by Vice President Al Gore and Secretary Shalala. During the weekend, congregations and clergy of many faiths are joining transplant organizations to increase awareness about the critical need for organ and tissue donation. Thousands of congregations will participate in this annual nationwide observance.
"Many Americans turn to religious leaders for guidance about end-of-life decisions, and we hope that organ and tissue donation can be part of that discussion when appropriate," said Secretary Shalala. "Nearly all religions support organ and tissue donation as one of the highest expressions of compassion and generosity. National Donor Sabbath gives Americans a chance to discuss life-saving donations with their religious leaders and families."
On average, 11 people die every day waiting for a transplant because the number of organs donated in the U.S. falls critically short of the need, and the waiting list continues to grow. More than 58,000 men, women and children are now waiting for a healthy organ to replace a failing kidney, heart, lung, liver, or pancreas. Fewer than 20,000 individuals, however, received an organ transplant in 1997.
"Thousands of critically-ill individuals could be saved every year if more organs were donated," said Claude Earl Fox, M.D., M.P.H., administrator of HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration, the agency responsible for administering the organ and tissue donation and transplantation system. "We believe the involvement of the faith community in National Donor Sabbath can make a difference in the number of individuals who consider donation and discuss it with their families."
A recent study conducted for HRSA by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics reported that only 2 percent of the relatives of potential donors who had died within the previous year had heard about organ and tissue donation from a clergy member. Informed families are important because their consent is sought when donation is possible.
"The religious community has a unique responsibility to help Americans learn about organ and tissue donation before a crisis arises," said Reverend Clark Lobenstine, executive director of the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington, which brings together the Bah(r)'I, Hindu-Jain, Islamic, Jewish, Latter-day Saint, Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Sikh faith communities. "National Donor Sabbath sets aside a special time for clergy and congregations to talk about and encourage donation. It is a time to celebrate the gift of life, a blessing that can be shared by all faiths."
HHS is partnering with numerous faith organizations to encourage organ and tissue donation, including the Congress of National Black Churches (CNBC), a coalition of eight historically black denominations representing 65,000 churches with over 20 million members. Last May, HHS and CNBC hosted a two-day meeting to build bridges between African-American clergy and the transplant community in support of organ, tissue, and marrow donation. As a result, several CNBC affiliates across the country are participating in National Donor Sabbath.
The Congress of National Black Churches of Louisiana, the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency, and the Heart of America National Marrow Program have launched an intensive program through local churches to encourage families to discuss their wishes about donation and to enroll in the Louisiana Donor Registry.
HHS also is collaborating with Transplant for Life, a group affiliated with the Irving Grant Service Center at Temple Kol Tikvah (Voice of Hope) in Woodland Hills, Calif. Building on previous successful programs by the Rabbinical Assembly, the Rabbinical Council of America, and the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, Transplant for Life has launched a grassroots effort to promote and encourage National Donor Sabbath participation among members of the Southern California Jewish Community. The program received the unanimous endorsement of the Southern California Board of Rabbis, representing all four branches of Judaism (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist). Transplant for Life plans to expand National Donor Sabbath into a year-round program to increase donation.
Other national faith and interfaith organizations supporting National Donor Sabbath include the General Conference of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington, the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, the National Interfaith Coalition on Aging, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bah(r)'Is, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Rabbinical Assembly, the Rabbinical Council of America, the Shepherd's Centers of America, and the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.
National transplant organizations supporting National Donor Sabbath include the American Red Cross Tissue Services, the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations, the Coalition on Donation, the National Kidney Foundation, the National Minority Organ and Tissue Transplant Education Program, the Transplant Recipients International Organization, Inc. and the United Network for Organ Sharing.
For a free brochure and donor card in English or Spanish, call the Coalition on Donation at 1-888-90- SHARE (1-888-907-4273) or visit the HHS Web site at www.organdonor.gov.
Note: HHS press releases are available on the World Wide Web at: www.hhs.gov.