New York State ranks last in the nation in the percentage of residents registered as organ donors, and as a result, every 18 hours someone in New York dies while waiting for a life-saving organ.
As part of an effort to bolster the number of organ donors and reduce the number of people on the organ transplant waiting list, New York has adopted October 4th as Organ Donor Enrollment Day.
Jamaica and Flushing Hospital Medical Center joined this statewide initiative to increase the number of donors by collaborating with LiveOnNY to host donor registration events in their main lobbies.
During the course of registration, people were given informational brochures that debunked myths that would have kept them from becoming an organ donor in the past. With the help of dedicated staff and volunteers which included Flushing Hospital’s Mary Fischer and her daughter Lauren Fischer (pictured)-a double lung transplant recipient; approximately 80 new organ donors were registered.
Jamaica and Flushing Hospitals thank all who signed up and those who took information to decide at a later date.
If you have not done so already, please consider becoming an organ donor. It is truly a gift that only one person can give to another.
To find out how you can register as organ, eye and/or tissue donor please visit http://www.liveonny.org/