– Community Health Centers across the state to participate –

Charleston, W.Va., March 17, 2017 – Donate Life West Virginia and the West Virginia Rural Health Association will join forces to raise awareness about the importance of organ, tissue and cornea donation.

The joint program – Caring, Hope, Commitment – launches today. The organizations will hold a luncheon at 11:30 a.m. on April 21 to educate health center attendees on the importance of donation.

“Through our collaboration with West Virginia Rural Health Association, we will increase organ donation awareness with the goal of saving the lives of the many awaiting transplant in the state of West Virginia,” said Susan Stuart, president and CEO, the Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE).

“Increasing organ donor registration has tremendous potential to improve the health of or save lives of West Virginians,” said Debrin Jenkins, executive director, West Virginia Rural Health Association.

Nearly 500 West Virginians are awaiting a life-saving organ transplant. Thousands more are in need of healing tissue or cornea transplants. Nationally, more than 118,000 people are awaiting an organ transplant. At least 22 people will die each day without receiving one. For every person CORE CHC West Virginia– Page 2 who donates organs, tissue and corneas, as many as 75 lives can be saved or dramatically improved. For more information visit www.donatelifewv.org.

About CORE
The Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE) is one of 58 federally designated not-for-profit organ procurement organizations (OPOs) in the United States. CORE works closely with donor families and designated healthcare professionals to coordinate the surgical recovery of organs, tissues and corneas for transplantation. CORE also facilitates the computerized matching of donated organs and placement of corneas. With headquarters in Pittsburgh and an office in Charleston, West Virginia, CORE oversees a region that encompasses 155 hospitals and almost six million people throughout western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Chemung County, New York. For more information, visit core.org or call 1-800-DONORS-7.

About Donate Life West Virginia
Donate Life West Virginia is comprised of four federally designated organ procurement organizations (OPOs) that are dedicated to promoting and coordinating the donation of organs and tissue for transplantation: CORE, Lifeline of Ohio Organ Procurement Agency, Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates and LifeNet Health. For more information, visit www.donatelifewv.org.

About West Virginia Rural Health Association
West Virginia Rural Health Association is a 501 c3 organization, with a mission to unite people, communities and organizations to strengthen rural health in West Virginia. Our 600+ members advocate for quality, accessible rural health for all West Virginians through our annual West Virginia Rural Health Conference, Health Workforce Day at the Capitol, and our WV Health Data Portal. For more information, visit www.wvrha.org or call Debrin Jenkins at 304-890-7017. # # #