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  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23, 2002
PR-089-02
www.nyc.gov


MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG URGES ELIGIBLE CITY WORKERS TO FOLLOW HIS LEAD AND REGISTER FOR ORGAN/TISSUE DONATION DURING
NATIONAL ORGAN AND TISSUE DONOR AWARENESS WEEK

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today urged New York City workers to think about the importance of organ and tissue donation and is including a message about the issue on 175,000 City employee paychecks on Friday, April 26th. City workers will also receive New York State Organ and Tissue Donor Registry information and enrollment brochures with their paychecks. An additional 37,000 employees of the New York City Health and Hospital Corporation will receive the material with their paychecks, raising the total to over 200,000 City employees.

"If all New Yorkers take a little time to talk to their families and learn the facts about organ and tissue donation, we can do something about the severe shortage of donors," said Mayor Bloomberg. "I have signed the New York State Donor Registry and my driver's license to show that I am willing to be a donor. I hope that every New Yorker will consider doing the same. As the events of the past year have so tragically reminded us, nothing is more precious than the gift of life."

The Mayor's support comes during National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week which seeks to raise public awareness about organ and tissue donation and the desperate shortage of donors that exists in the region. The New York Organ Donor Network reports that of the 80,000 Americans awaiting an organ transplant, close to 8,000 live in New York State, and thousands more need corneas and tissue such as skin, bone and heart valves. It is estimated that a new name is added to the national wait list for organ donation every 13 minutes, and 15 people - men, women and children of all races and ethnic backgrounds - die every day because of the shortage. One donor can save up to eight lives and improve dozens more though corneal as well as tissue transplants.

"We are extremely grateful to Mayor Bloomberg for lending his support during National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week," said Elaine R. Berg, President and CEO of the New York Organ Donor Network. "It will make a tremendous difference in focusing public attention on the critical need for organ and tissue donors." The New York Organ Donor Network is a non-profit federally designated organ procurement agency that serves 12 million people in the Greater New York Metropolitan area.

"Many families, when asked about donation, refuse consent because they are unaware of their loved one's wishes or are misinformed about donation," added Berg. "But when people look at the facts, they come to realize that donation is a positive force in America. The bottom line is that donation saves lives."

To heighten public awareness during the week, the New York Organ Donor Network will set up displays and hand out brochures, posters and other materials at hospitals and community centers in the Greater New York area. The Donor Network suggests that those who make the decision to be donors should sign their driver's licenses and enroll in the New York State Organ and Tissue Donor Registry. Since the registry was launched in June 2000 by the New York State Department of Health, nearly 300,000 people have given meaning to the slogan, "Life...Pass It On" by adding their names to the database. Confidential enrollment can be done online at www.health.state.ny.us or by calling 1-800-GIFT-4-NY.

www.nyc.gov

Contact: Ed Skyler / Megan Sheekey
(212) 788-2958
Nadine Woloshin, New York Organ Donor Network
(212) 843-8041