Sample Press Release–Campus Partners

Sample Press Release (DOC - 550 KB)

[CAMPUS NAME] Joins the 2009 National Donation Campus Challenge

[CAMPUS NAME] has joined the 2009 National Donation Campus Challenge campaign as
a Campus Partner.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, the campaign brings together National Partners, organ and tissue donation organizations, and Campus Partners — universities, colleges, and other post-secondary campuses — to help educate employees and campus communities on the importance of organ and tissue donation. The goal of the campaign is to register 60,000 new organ donor designations by November 30, 2009.

Why is this campaign so important? Because each day, 78 Americans receive a life-saving organ transplant, and thousands more benefit from cornea and tissue transplants. These extraordinary gifts have been generously donated by ordinary people of all ages and backgrounds who took just a few minutes in a busy day to indicate their decisions to become organ and tissue donors. But broader awareness of the need for organ donation is crucial, as more than 100,000 people are currently awaiting an organ transplant in the United States and each week, more than 100 people on the national transplant waiting list die because no organ is available.

Here are some facts about organ, tissue, and eye donation:

• Each organ donor may save up to 8 lives, and each tissue donor can enhance the quality
  of life for up to 50 people.
• The gift of life is ageless — anyone can sign up to be an organ donor, at any age.
• Most people are eligible to sign up on the donor registry — the medical criteria at the
  time of donation will determine eligibility. 
• Cornea transplants have been successful for more than 100 years.
• Organ transplants have been successful for more than 50 years.

To learn more about organ and tissue donation and to register the decision to be an organ and tissue donor, simply visit http://www.organdonor.gov/campus or [insert State registry link].

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