CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (March 27, 2018) – Mercy Medical Center, in partnership with the Iowa Donor Network, will observe National Donate Life Month with a reflection and prayer service, flag-raising and a one-mile wellness walk on Monday, April 2. Additionally, on April 16, Mercy will sponsor a donor awareness table, encouraging individuals to register as organ donors. (Event details below)
Donate Life Month recognizes and celebrates transplant recipients who have been given new life and hope, as well as those patients, and their families, who are still waiting for a transplant. Awareness activities throughout April are designed to inspire people to register as organ, eye and tissue donors.
Approximately 70 percent of adults are registered donors in Iowa. Still, the number of people in need of transplants continues to outpace the number of organ donors. There are currently 115,000 Americans waiting for a life-saving organ transplant, nearly 700 of them live here in Iowa. Unfortunately, not all who are waiting will receive an organ in time to save their life. On average, 20 people die each day in the United States while waiting for a transplant.
Registering your decision to become an organ donor is the most effective way to ensure you can save lives through a donation. For more information, visit www.iowadonornetwork.org.
Event Details
April 2: Members of the public are invited to join Mercy Medical Center’s organ and tissue donation committee for a reflection and prayer service at Mercy’s donor memorial wall on the mezzanine level of the Lundy Pavilion at 11 a.m. on Monday, April 2. Immediately following, those in attendance will walk to the flagpole outside Mercy’s 10th Street entrance and the Donate Life flag will be raised and flown for the month of April. After the flag-raising, participants are encouraged to join others in a one-mile walk around the Mercy campus in support of Donate Life month.
April 16: Visitors are encouraged to stop by a donor awareness table display in Mercy’s 10th street lobby from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on April 16 to learn more about the importance of organ, tissue, and eye donation, and to get registered as an organ donor on your driver’s license. Pick up a packet of Echinacea (coneflower) seeds too. The beautiful, daisy-like flowers attract butterflies, which represent organ donation as a symbol of change, new life and hope.
