Pennsylvania officials promote registration for PA Donor Day at Mechanicsburg event

Officials from the Pennsylvania Departments of Health and Transportation will join healthcare providers, organ donation organizations, and individuals affected by organ donation at UPMC West Shore in Mechanicsburg to promote registration as organ donors on PA Donor Day. The event aims to encourage more Pennsylvanians to become registered organ donors.

PA Donor Day is held on August 1 each year, a date chosen because one donor can save up to eight lives. Currently, over 6,000 people in Pennsylvania are waiting for an organ transplant. Nationwide, thousands die annually while waiting for a donated organ. Organ and tissue donation can save or improve many lives; one donor may help up to eight people through organs and enhance the lives of 75 others through tissue donation. Tissue donations are used for patients recovering from spinal injuries, burns, vision loss, and other medical needs.

Almost half of Pennsylvanians with driver’s licenses or identification cards—about five million residents—are registered as organ donors. Officials say increasing this number is important for saving and improving lives across the state.

Dr. Debra Bogen, Secretary of the Department of Health; Larry Shifflet, Executive Deputy Secretary of the Department of Transportation; Elizabeth Ritter, President of UPMC Harrisburg, UPMC Community Osteopathic, and UPMC West Shore; Dr. Manish Gupta, Surgical Director of the UPMC Kidney Transplant Program; Rev. Brenda Alton from the Governor's Organ Donation Advisory Committee; CJ Adams, an organ recipient; and Marilyn Michelle Reynolds, an organ donor, are scheduled to participate in Friday’s event.

The event will take place at 1:00 PM on August 1 at UPMC Outpatient Services in Mechanicsburg.

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