Pittsburgh Calls Out Philly in Support of Organ Donation

November 24, 2015

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PHILADELPHIA – Pittsburgh has a message for the City of Brotherly Love: “You got no heart, Philly.”

A billboard was unveiled Monday along I-95 near Lincoln Financial Field and the Wells Fargo Center in support of organ donation in Pennsylvania. It is sponsored by Donate Life Pennsylvania and is part of a call for Philadelphians to outshine Pittsburgh by encouraging fans to register as organ donors.

A matching billboard is displayed near Heinz Field in Pittsburgh 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.

Philadelphians can visit the website www.215HEART.com to register as an organ donor in just 30 seconds – and track the progress of our city versus Pittsburgh.

“Philadelphia is the greatest city in the world and we look after our neighbors, including those in need of a life-saving organ transplant. This competition will end up like it does any time our fans put their hearts into a good cause: with Philly on top. This month we want to beat Pittsburgh by registering more organ donors overall and increase the percentage of people in our region who want to give the gift of life,” said Howard M. Nathan, President and CEO of Gift of Life Donor Program.

Donation facts:

  • 44 percent of 3.1 million people in have registered as organ donors in the Philadelphia region (including Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties).
  • 48 percent of 1.7 million people have registered as organ donors in the Pittsburgh region (including Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Washington and Westmoreland 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 Pittsburgh wrong and defend Philly’s honor, visit www.215HEART.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.