Philly Calls Out Pittsburgh in Support of Organ Donation

November 24, 2015

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PITTSBURGH – Philadelphia has a message for the Steel City: “You got no heart, Pittsburgh.”

A billboard was unveiled Monday along Route 65 near Heinz Field in support of organ donation in Pennsylvania. It is sponsored by Donate Life Pennsylvania and is part of a call for Pittsburghers to outshine Philly by encouraging fans to register as organ donors.

A matching billboard is displayed near Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia to challenge fans there. The billboards are part of a month-long campaign to see which city has more heart and can register more residents to become organ donors. The winning city will be announced on December 21.

Pittsburghers can visit the website www.412HEART.com to register as an organ donor in just 30 seconds – and track the progress of our city versus Philadelphia.

“They don’t call Pittsburgh the City of Champions for nothing. When Pittsburgh fans put our hearts into something we win on every playing field. That includes looking after Pennsylvanians in need of life-saving organ transplants. Pittsburghers already register as donors at a higher rate than Philadelphians. This month we want to defeat Philly by registering more organ donors overall,” said Susan Stuart, President and CEO of the Center for Organ Recovery & Education.

Donation facts:

  • 48 percent of 1.7 million people have registered as organ donors in the Pittsburgh region (including Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Washington and Westmoreland counties).
  • 44 percent of 3.1 million people have registered as organ donors in the Philadelphia region (including Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties).

While Pennsylvanians overwhelmingly support organ and tissue donation, fewer than half of residents have added the donor designation to their driver’s license, learner’s permit or state identification card. Donate Life Pennsylvania aims to spark an increase in those numbers by inciting the curiosity—and loyalty—of local fans.

More than 8,200 people need a life-saving organ transplant in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, someone on the waiting list dies every 18 hours on average. Thousands more wait for tissue transplants that would greatly enhance their quality of life.

For more than 20 years Donate Life Pennsylvania has worked to educate state residents and encourage them to become organ and tissue donors, but this year they’re trying a new approach—pushing the buttons of fans in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

For more information about organ donation, and to prove Philadelphia wrong and defend Pittsburgh’s honor, visit www.412HEART.com.

 

Donate Life Pennsylvania is a collaborative initiative between Gift of Life Donor Program (GOL), the Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE), and the Pennsylvania Departments of Health and Transportation. It is funded by residents of Pennsylvania through voluntary contributions included with driver’s license renewals, vehicle registrations and state income tax filings.

All contributions are used by the Governor Robert P. Casey Memorial Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Trust Fund to educate Pennsylvanians, build awareness about the importance of organ and tissue donation, and increase the number of people who sign up to become donors on their driver’s license, learner’s permit or state identification card.