Independence Health System to honor organ transplant patients, encourage donations in April

Quincey Reese
Sunday, March 31, 2024 2:59 p.m. | Sunday, March 31, 2024 2:59 p.m.

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Dr. Marty Sellers, left, and Meharry Medical College students Emmanuel Kotey, second from right, and Teresa Belledent, right, examine a kidney after it was removed from an organ donor on June 15, 2023, in Jackson, Tenn. Cancer was later found in the donor’s lungs so the kidney couldn’t be used for transplant.

Independence Health System will honor patients awaiting organ donations in April for Donate Life Month.

Participating hospitals Frick in Mt. Pleasant, Latrobe and Westmoreland in Greensburg will kick off the month with a flag raising on Friday .

The health system is uniquely positioned to inspire the community to donate, said Chief Medical Officer Dr. Carol Fox.

“The more people we can inspire to become organ donors, the better we can serve our mission to be advocates for the well-being of our entire community,” Fox said in a statement.

The health system will also celebrate Blue and Green Day — a national day of recognition for organ donations — by wearing blue and green to work on April 12. There will also be a private flag raising at the Butler Memorial Hospital intensive care unit.

More than 100,000 people across the country are awaiting an organ transplant, according to the Center for Organ Recovery Education, a nonprofit that is partnered with 150 hospitals and health care facilities. About 7,000 of these patients live in the state.