Houston -- Most Americans equate February 14 with Valentine’s Day – a day to celebrate romantic love with red roses, heart-shaped chocolates and elaborate greeting cards. But February 14 is also National Donor Day.
Started in 1998 by the Saturn Corporation and its United Auto Workers partners, with the support of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the goal of National Donor Day is to increase awareness of the need for registered organ, eye and tissue donors.
A Texas resident may register as a donor at his/her local Department of Public Safety (DPS) office when applying for or renewing a driver’s license or ID. Effective January 2010, a red heart in the bottom right-hand corner of a Texas driver’s license signifies the individual is a registered organ, eye and tissue donor.
“This Valentine’s Day, you can put your heart in the right place by registering as an organ, eye and tissue donor,” said Kim Davis, Managing Director of Donor Resources for LifeGift. “As a registered donor, you have the potential to save as many as 80 lives. What better time to join the 1.4 million Texans who have said YES to donation?”
An individual also can register via the Donate Life Texas Website:www.donatelifetexas.org or online via the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) when registering his/her automobile.
More than 110,000 men, women and children are waiting for a lifesaving transplant and nearly 10,000 of those are Texans. Every day, 18 people die in this country due to the lack of available organs for transplant and every 13 minutes, another name is added to the waiting list.
This Valentine’s Day, give the gift of love … and life.
For more information on organ and tissue donation, visitwww.lifegift.org.
About LifeGift
LifeGift is a not-for-profit organ procurement organization dedicated to recovering organs and tissue for individuals needing transplants in 109 Texas counties in North Texas, Southeast Texas and West Texas. For more information, go towww.lifegift.org or 1-800-633-6562.
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