“Human Side of Donation” explores the stories of donor families and recipients at all stages of the donation process.

The “Human Side of Donation” campaign, facilitated by Donate Life Pennsylvania, showcases real-life vignettes of the individuals and families personally affected by organ and tissue donation. From donor families to donation recipients to those on the transplant waiting list, the vignettes show how organ and tissue donation truly affects all of us. Stories will be highlighted as features on social media and in digital ads statewide.

“Organ and tissue donation deeply impacts so many lives in such profound ways,” said Howard M. Nathan, President and CEO, Gift of Life Donor Program (GOL) in Philadelphia. “It runs the entire gamut of the human experience, from grief to gratitude and a sense of rebirth.  There is no substitute for people telling their own stories in their own words. This campaign is about giving them a voice, in the hopes that their experiences will inspire others in the same way they inspire us.”

“In our work, we see the incredible impact of organ and tissue donation over and over again,”  said Susan Stuart, President and CEO of the Center for Organ Recovery and  Education (CORE) in Pittsburgh. “One person can save up to eight lives and help improve the quality of life for 75 people. Highlighting the real-life stories of organ and tissue donation underscores why everyone should register today. As seen, the impact can span years.”

Nearly 8,000 people in Pennsylvania are currently on the waiting list for a life-saving organ transplant, showing the critical need for more individuals to register. Anyone — regardless of age or medical history — can sign up to be a donor. There is no cost to donors and their families, and all major religions in the United States support organ and tissue donation and consider it a final act of love and generosity toward others.

It only takes 30 seconds to register on the website, donatelifepa.org/registration.

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About Donate Life Pennsylvania
Donate Life Pennsylvania is a collaborative initiative between the Pennsylvania Departments of Health, Education and Transportation and Pennsylvania’s two organ procurement organizations, the Center for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE) and Gift of Life Donor Program (GOL). It is funded by residents of Pennsylvania through voluntary contributions included with driver’s license renewals, vehicle registrations and state income tax filings or through direct check donations to the Governor Robert P. Casey Memorial Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Trust Fund in care of the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Trust Fund contributions are used to educate Pennsylvanians, build awareness about the importance of organ and tissue donation and increase the number of people who sign up to become organ donors on their driver’s license or state identification cards. More information is available at donatelifepa.org or facebook.com/donatelifepennsylvania.

About CORE
CORE is one of 58 federally designated not-for-profit organ procurement organizations (OPOs) in the United States. CORE works closely with donor families and designated healthcare professionals to coordinate the surgical recovery of organs, tissues and corneas for transplantation. CORE also facilitates the computerized matching of donated organs and placement of corneas. With headquarters in Pittsburgh and an office in Charleston, West Virginia, CORE oversees a region that encompasses 155 hospitals and almost six million people throughout western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Chemung County, New York.

About GOL
Since 1974, GOL has coordinated more than 42,000 organ transplants and an estimated 600,000 tissue transplants. GOL’s service area includes nearly 11 million people throughout the eastern half of Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware, and in 2015, the organization coordinated over 44 organ donors per million population, ranking it among the highest in the world. For more information about organ and tissue donation, or to register today, visit donors1.org. It only takes 30 seconds to register.