Wear blue and green on April 22 to support organ and tissue donation

More than 100,000 people await a lifesaving transplant, but each day, 20 people die because they don’t receive an organ in time. Penn State Health Living Donor Liaison Donya McCoy encourages everyone to educate themselves about living organ donation. “My daughter is a living donor transplant recipient. The gift a donor gives to the patient not only changes their life, but the lives of their families, too. Living donation is a solution to the organ shortage issue. Every donor I’ve ever talked with said they would donate again if they could. Helping someone in such a profound way adds so much to the donor’s lives, as well.”
Penn State Health and Penn State College of Medicine employees can help raise awareness for organ and tissue donation on Friday, April 22. It’s National Donate Life Blue & Green Day, and staff and students are encouraged to wear their colors and show their support by:
- Snapping a selfie of themselves and/or their team members wearing blue and green (remember to wear masks)
- Sending their photos to app.box.com/f/713209f2fcc1498b90c52f2f545c840b
Photos will be shared in a gallery link in The RITE Stuff and on Penn State Health social media channels.
Those who want to share their Blue & Green Day photos on their personal social media pages should use the #BlueGreenDay hashtag and tag their location as:
- Facebook: @PennStateHealth
- Twitter: @PennStHershey
- Instagram: @PennStateHershey
- LinkedIn: @Penn State Health
According to the nonprofit awareness group Donate Life America, one organ donation can save eight lives, and one tissue donation can heal the lives of 75 people. Groups like the National Kidney Registry and Alliance for Paired Kidney Donation have programs that allow unrelated donors to find a match with a recipient in need.
People who want to register to become a deceased donor can do so on the PennDOT website or through Donate Life America. People who want to register to become a living donor should call the Hershey Medical Center Transplant Office at 717-531-6092 and ask to speak to our living donor coordinator.
The Hershey Medical Center transplant team performs kidney transplant surgeries for both adults and children, as well as liver transplant surgeries for adults.
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