Each day, 20 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, along with 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 is encouraging individuals to register to become an organ, tissue, and cornea donor, which is as easy as visiting donors1.org.

"Transplantation is one of the most significant advancements in the history of medicine, with 95% of Americans saying they support organ donation. Still, the need for organs is far greater than the number available," said Richard D. Hasz, President and CEO of Gift of Life. "Gift of Life's mission includes educating our community about the powerful impact they can make by taking just 30 seconds to register as an organ, tissue, and cornea donor."

"Every Tower Health hospital strongly supports organ donation," said P. Sue Perrotty, Tower Health President and CEO. "I also encourage everyone to become an organ and tissue donor. Together we can help those waiting for a life-saving transplant. Tower Health offers an outpatient care site of Penn Transplant Institute (PTI) at Reading Hospital. This ensures transplant patients have convenient access to sophisticated pre- and post-transplant surgical care from the PTI team in their community."

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, race, or medical history.
  • More than 5,000 children and adults 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.
  • Kidneys are the most in-demand organ—with more than 95,000 people across the nation waiting for one—followed by liver, heart, and lungs.
  • Because conditions such as diabetes and hypertension are often more prevalent in minority populations, these individuals make up more than 50 percent of those on the national organ transplant list.

 

About Tower Health

Tower Health is a regional integrated healthcare system that offers leading-edge, compassionate healthcare and wellness services to communities in Berks, Chester, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties. With nearly 12,000 team members, Tower Health consists of Reading Hospital in West Reading; Chestnut Hill Hospital in Philadelphia; 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 provided by Tower Health at Home; TowerDirect ambulance and emergency response; Tower Health Medical Group; and a network of 25 urgent care facilities across the Tower Health service area. 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 129 acute care hospitals and 14 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 14 years, Gift of Life has coordinated the most organ donors in the United States. Its annual donation rate, most recently 62 organ donors-per-million-population, ranks among the highest in the world. Since 1974, Gift of Life has coordinated more than 55,000 organs for transplant, and more than two 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.