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Woodbridge News
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Announcement of Township Organ Donation Awareness Campaign
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July 19, 2005
Press Conference. . . Press Conference. . . Press Conference. . .
WHEN: Thursday, July 21, 11 a.m.
WHERE: Township Health Center, 2 George Frederick Plaza, Woodbridge
(just east of Route 35 across from Main Library)
WHO: Mayor Frank G. Pelzman – Councilman Charles Kenny –
Health Director Dennis Green – Transplant Recipients –
Representatives from New Jersey Sharing Network
Woodbridge Township is partnering with the New Jersey Sharing Network to sponsor a special awareness campaign promoting organ donor registration, Mayor Frank G. Pelzman has announced.
“ Thousands of people die needlessly each year due to a lack of available donated organs,” says Mayor Pelzman. “Our goal is to help people in Woodbridge Township grasp the extent of the crisis and to understand the simple steps they can take toward a solution that will ultimately help their neighbors, their friends and very likely their own families.”
According to the New Jersey Sharing Network of Springfield, New Jersey, t here is a severe organ shortage in the U.S. – 88,000 individuals on the waiting list nationwide and 2,700 individuals in New Jersey hoping for a life-saving transplant. An average of 17 people die each day from the lack of available organs.
The problem is compounded by several misconceptions about organ donation.
“The first misconception is that you are signed up as a donor when you get your driver’s license,” says Tara Artesi, Community Relations Manager for New Jersey Sharing Network. “That does express your willingness to donate, but it doesn’t actually list you on an active registry. The only certain way to have your organs available for transplant is to be signed in with the official donor database, the New Jersey Organ and Tissue Donor Registry .”
That registry is maintained by New Jersey Sharing Network , a non-profit, federally-certified organ procurement organization (OPO) that acquires and coordinates placement of donated organs for patients on national transplant waiting lists. The New Jersey Sharing Network is responsible for the recovery of organs and tissue for New Jersey residents currently awaiting transplantation and is part of the national recovery system.
The Woodbridge Township campaign will kick off at 11 a.m. this Thursday, July 21, at the Township Health Center, 2 George Frederick Plaza .
Members of the Sharing Network will have a table in the lobby with information and giveaways. Transplant recipients who volunteer with New Jersey Sharing Network will also be on hand to share their personal experiences with organ donation.
First Ward Councilman Charles Kenny brought the New Jersey Sharing Network’s campaign to the attention of Mayor Pelzman and the Council. “This is literally a life-and-death issue for many people in our community,” says Councilman Kenny. “It is a prime example of municipal government working with grass-roots healthcare initiatives to help save lives.”
The Woodbridge Township awareness campaign is part of a federally-funded educational effort to research the most effective methods to promote organ and tissue donation in the workplace .
The “Workplace Partnership for Life” project derives from a three-year, $1.7 million U.S. Department of Health and Human Services grant. It aims to significantly increase the rate of organ and tissue donor registration as well as the awareness level about organ donation among employees in New Jersey. The project is a collaboration with leading researchers at Rutgers University and Kean University and is the most extensive investigation to date of how best to promote organ donation within the workplace environment.
“As a result of the grant project, the number of registered organ donors in New Jersey is expected to increase substantially,” says Ms. Artesi. “The Sharing Network will also be able to provide valuable information to other organ procurement organizations across the country about the effectiveness of particular outreach activities. The potential value of this research on saving lives is limitless, and we are thrilled that Mayor Pelzman and the Township of Woodbridge have been so open and cooperative in assisting us.”
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©2000
MIS Department
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