Title
To recognize April as Donate Life Month in the City of Columbus and to increase awareness regarding the importance of organ donation
Explanation
WHEREAS, More than 123,000 men, women, and children are currently awaiting a life-saving organ transplant in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Approximately 21 times a day a person dies for lack of an available organ; and
WHEREAS, Ohio has approximately 3,200 people awaiting an organ transplant at any one time; and
WHEREAS, Central Ohio has more than 670 men, women and children currently listed for an organ transplant at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center or Nationwide Children’s Hospital; and
WHEREAS, A single donor can potentially save the lives of eight people through an organ donation by donating their heart, lungs, liver, pancreas, kidneys and small intestine, and enhance the lives of more than 50 others through tissue donation by donating corneas, veins, heart valves, fascia, bone, skins, tendons, ligaments, and nerves; and
WHEREAS, Lifeline of Ohio is the designated organ procurement organization dedicated to promoting and coordinating the donation of organs and tissue for transplantation in this area; and
WHEREAS, April has been proclaimed Donate Life Month both nationally and locally; and
WHEREAS, More than 5.3 million Ohioans have made the important decision to register as an organ, eye, and tissue donor in the Ohio Donor Registry; and
WHEREAS, The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles makes it easy to register your advanced directive decision to become an organ or tissue donor on a driver license or state identification card, by signing up online at www.lifelineofohio.org or by filling out a paper registration form; and
WHEREAS, Discussing your wishes regarding donation is one of the most important additional steps a family can take; and
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
That April 2015 is hereby proclaimed Donate Life Month in the City of Columbus, and in doing so,...
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