Lakewood noted for spreading the word on organ, tissue donation, Minnesota

STAPLES — Lakewood Health System was recently presented with an award of appreciation for participating in the 2010 Minnesota Hospital Association and LifeSource strategic initiative to increase organ and tissue donation awareness. Hospital participation included publishing donation stories in newsletters, allowing staff to take time out and register themselves as donors, education sessions for staff and auxiliary, and more.

Fifty-six hospitals throughout Minnesota, including Lakewood, participated in the campaign and were involved in increasing the number of registered donors in Minnesota by 92,000 in 2010. While those numbers are impressive, they still fall short, Lakewood reported. In 2010, 125 individuals died in Minnesota waiting for an organ that never arrived. More than 40 percent of Minnesotans still are not registered donors.

Since 2008, two tissue donors from Lakewood Health System have saved and enhanced more than 100 transplant recipients’ lives, Lakewood reported.