Donate Life Texas Marks National Donate Life Month this April

High Plains Observer
AMARILLO, Texas (March 26, 2013) â€" Donate Life Texas, the state team of organ and tissue donation professionals, celebrates April as the 10th annual National Donate Life Month. 

Originally a week long observance, it was officially recognized as a month-long event in 2003. The celebration commemorates those who have received or continue to wait for lifesaving transplants and those who have given the ultimate gift through donation.

“Increasing the number of registered organ, eye and tissue donors that save lives is an important part of our daily work. April gives us a focused month to honor the lives of those who have given and received and provides a perfect opportunity to renew our commitment to saving lives,” said Schawnte’ Williams Taylor, a local spokesperson for Donate Life Texas.

Across the country, more than 117,000 men, women and children wait for a lifesaving transplant and thousands more wait to life-restoring tissue donations. In Texas, more than 11,000 residents wait for their second chance; in Amarillo and surrounding areas, there are hundreds of people holding out hope that a donor will be found.

"Every day, 75 people have their lives saved through organ transplantation across the nation. Many of these 75 are transplanted in Texas thanks to talented transplant professionals", according to Taylor. "Countless others have their lives renewed through tissue transplantation and many others have their sight restored through cornea transplantation. The magnitude of these gifts is unimaginable."

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