For Immediate Realease Contact:

Mark Johnson
Media Coordinator
johnsonm@lifepoint-sc.org 
1-800-462-0755                  

SOUTH CAROLINA CONGREGATIONS WORK TO EDUCATE ABOUT ORGAN DONATION

Greenville, SC, October 30, 2007 – Regardless of religious affiliation, many congregations and houses of worship across South Carolina will join in a national effort to recognize the life-saving benefits of organ donation on November 9-11, 2007.  This is in honor of National Donor Sabbath, an interfaith celebration of life that reminds congregations of their faiths’ support of donation.

Most major religious denominations support organ and tissue donation.  However, a Gallup poll showed that fewer than 10 percent of people in the United States know their religion has doctrines regarding organ and tissue donation. 

“We emphasize giving time and time again but the greatest thing we can give is life,” says Pastor Arnold Hiette of Peoples Baptist Church in Greer.  He received the “Gift of Life” through the miracle of a liver transplant in 2006.  Hiette adds, “Now I understand how important it is…to be an organ donor. 

Over 700 people in SC and nearly 100,000 in the US are currently on the transplant waiting list.  Because those numbers keep growing, 18 people a day die waiting for a life-saving organ.  The solution to this problem is simple: encourage people to commit to being an organ and tissue donor and provide them with the correct information on how to ensure their decision will be honored.  This is the goal of National Donor Sabbath.

“Donor Sabbath presents an ideal occasion for raising the importance of organ and tissue donation,” said Melissa Blevins, executive director of Donate Life South Carolina, “This campaign is designed to encourage South Carolinians to talk to their loved ones about donation.  Unfortunately, it is a discussion that all too often never takes place.” 

For more information about National Donor Sabbath, to arrange an interview with a donor family member or transplant recipient, or simply learn more about organ and tissue donation, contact Mark Johnson Media Coordinator for Donate Life SC at 864-609-5270 ext.191.   

About Donate Life South Carolina

Donate Life South Carolina is the organization whose mission is to promote organ and tissue donation for transplantation and provide patient assistance for South Carolina transplant recipients.

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