Organ Donation Pledge Signed by 4 Little Rock Hospitals
By: KARK 4 News
Updated: March 1, 2012
A campaign that hopes to reach more organ donors now has four Little Rock hospitals promising support.
Representatives from Baptist Health Medical Center, St. Vincent Medical Center, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Arkansas Children's Hospital and the Arkansas Hospital Association have signed a commitment to become hospital partners with the Arkansas Regional Organ Recovery Agency (ARORA) as part of the Hospital Donor Registration Campaign.
The national Hospital Donor Registration Campaign is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration. Its purpose is to bring together national partners, local and regional organ, eye and tissue donation organizations and hospitals throughout the nation to educate employees and hospital communities on the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation. The goal of the campaign is to register 300,000 new organ donors nationally by April 30th of this year.
According to Michael Hudson, Director of Hospital Development at ARORA, medical facilities play a critical role in the support of organ and tissue donation. "Each day, 78 Americans receive lifesaving organ transplants and thousands more benefit from cornea and tissue transplants," he said. "Hospitals and health systems have the unique ability to educate patients, visitors, members of the community, as well as their own staff and caregivers about the importance of signing up to become an organ and tissue donor. In doing so, our state's hospitals can give hope to more than 113,000 people currently awaiting an organ transplant in the United States, including 334 Arkansans," he said. Hudson added that by agreeing to participate in the partnership program, hospitals are "literally saving and enhancing thousands of lives."
The hospital partnership agreement was signed at ARORA's Winter Symposium, which featured a full day of workshops, as well as presentations by national and local speakers with expertise and experience in subjects related to organ and tissue recovery and donation.
Donation Facts
Representatives from Baptist Health Medical Center, St. Vincent Medical Center, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Arkansas Children's Hospital and the Arkansas Hospital Association have signed a commitment to become hospital partners with the Arkansas Regional Organ Recovery Agency (ARORA) as part of the Hospital Donor Registration Campaign.
The national Hospital Donor Registration Campaign is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration. Its purpose is to bring together national partners, local and regional organ, eye and tissue donation organizations and hospitals throughout the nation to educate employees and hospital communities on the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation. The goal of the campaign is to register 300,000 new organ donors nationally by April 30th of this year.
According to Michael Hudson, Director of Hospital Development at ARORA, medical facilities play a critical role in the support of organ and tissue donation. "Each day, 78 Americans receive lifesaving organ transplants and thousands more benefit from cornea and tissue transplants," he said. "Hospitals and health systems have the unique ability to educate patients, visitors, members of the community, as well as their own staff and caregivers about the importance of signing up to become an organ and tissue donor. In doing so, our state's hospitals can give hope to more than 113,000 people currently awaiting an organ transplant in the United States, including 334 Arkansans," he said. Hudson added that by agreeing to participate in the partnership program, hospitals are "literally saving and enhancing thousands of lives."
The hospital partnership agreement was signed at ARORA's Winter Symposium, which featured a full day of workshops, as well as presentations by national and local speakers with expertise and experience in subjects related to organ and tissue recovery and donation.
Donation Facts
- One organ donor can save as many as eight lives and improve many more through eye and tissue donation.
- Organ transplants have been successfully saving lives for more than 50 years.
- Cornea transplants have been successfully restoring sight for more than 100 years.
- Donated tissues such as skin, bone, and heart valves can dramatically improve the quality of life for recipients, and even save lives.
- Anyone can sign up to be a potential donor regardless of age, race, or medical history.
- More than 90 million people in the United States have registered their decision to donate.
- 57% of Arkansans 18 and over are registered as donors.
