Each day, 17 people in the United States die while waiting for a life-saving organ transplant. Tower Health is pleased to join the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) and Gift of Life Donor Program and organ procurement organizations throughout the country to inspire hope, advocacy, and passion as part of a statewide campaign to promote organ and tissue donation. Gift of Life encourages individuals to register to become an organ, tissue, and cornea donor.
“As healthcare providers focused on comprehensive transplantation services and management of end stage organ disease, we understand firsthand how vitally important organ donation is,” said David Reich, MD, FACS, Director of Tower Health Transplant Institute and a member of the Board of Directors of Gift of Life Donor Program. “Our skilled team at Tower Health Transplant Institute is able to deliver this life-saving care because of the generosity of others and their families. We are privileged to be able to quite literally shepherd the ‘Gift of Life’ for individuals in our communities.”
“The number of people in need of transplants far exceeds the number of organs, tissues, and corneas that are donated, and at Gift of Life, we’re passionate about educating people on the need to become an organ, tissue, and cornea donor,” said Howard M. Nathan, President and CEO. “Registering to become a donor only takes about 30 seconds, but it’s one of the most meaningful ways individuals can inspire hope and change the life of someone waiting for a transplant.”
Individuals are encouraged to talk with family members and friends about registering as a donor. One organ donor can save up to eight lives and a tissue donor can improve the lives of more than 100 others. To sign up, visit donors1.org.
Some important facts about organ, tissue, and cornea donation:
- Anyone can be a potential donor regardless of age, ethnicity, or medical history.
- More than 5,000 patients in the region await life-saving organ transplants. Thousands of others could benefit from life-enhancing tissue transplants.
- Fewer than 50 percent of registered drivers in Pennsylvania have designated themselves as organ and tissue donors.
- With more than 95,000 people across the nation awaiting a kidney, it is the organ in greatest demand, followed by liver, heart, and lungs.
- Because conditions such as diabetes and hypertension are often more prevalent in the minority communities, these individuals make up more than 50 percent of those on the national organ transplant list.
P. Sue Perrotty, Interim President and CEO of Tower Health, said, “Tower Health supports organ donation at all our hospitals, in addition to the transplant services we provide at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, Reading Hospital, and our Tower Health Transplant Institute outpatient offices in Philadelphia and West Reading. Our team is proud to participate in this important challenge and we encourage everyone to learn more and register to become an organ donor.”
About Tower Health
Tower Health is a strong, regional, integrated healthcare provider/payer system that offers leading-edge, compassionate healthcare and wellness services to a population of 2.5 million people. With approximately 14,000 team members, Tower Health consists of Reading Hospital in West Reading; Brandywine Hospital in Coatesville; Chestnut Hill Hospital in Philadelphia; Jennersville Hospital in West Grove; Phoenixville Hospital in Phoenixville; Pottstown Hospital in Pottstown; and St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, a partnership of Tower Health and Drexel University in Philadelphia. It also includes Reading Hospital Rehabilitation at Wyomissing; Reading Hospital School of Health Sciences in West Reading; home healthcare services provided by Tower Health at Home; and a network of 25 urgent care facilities across the Tower Health service area. Tower Health offers a connected network of 2,200 physicians, specialists, and providers across more than 230 convenient locations. For more information, visit towerhealth.org.
About Gift of Life Donor Program
Gift of Life Donor Program is the non-profit, federally designated organ procurement organization, working with 128 acute care hospitals and 15 transplant centers to serve 11.3 million people in the eastern half of Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware. Thanks to its compassionate community, for the past 13 years, Gift of Life has coordinated the most organ donors in the United States. Its annual donation rate, 55 organ donors-per-million-population, ranks among the highest in the world. Since 1974, Gift of Life has coordinated more than 52,500 life-saving organs for transplant, and approximately 1.75 million tissue transplants have resulted from the generosity of donors and their families. One organ donor can save the lives of up to eight people, and a tissue donor can improve the lives of more than 100 others. For more information or to register, visit donors1.org.