From July 9 through 22, Donate Life America is promoting “Every Community Has Opportunity” (ECHO). It is a nationwide observance focused on the importance of donation and transplantation in multicultural communities. The ECHO concept is that one voice with a donation message or story can be carried, amplified, and echoed throughout a community.
Donate Life America is the alliance of national organizations and Donate Life State Teams across the United States, committed to maximizing the number of organs, eyes, and tissue available to save and heal lives through transplantation, while developing a culture where donation is embraced as a fundamental human responsibility. In response to a growing need for organ transplants, Donate Life America and the Association for Multicultural Affairs in Transplantation, created ECHO.
58 percent of people currently on the U.S. transplant waiting list are from diverse cultural backgrounds:
- More than 34,500 of those waiting are AfricanAmerican/Black
- More than 22,500 of those waiting are Hispanic/Latino
- More than 9,500 of those waiting are Asian/Pacific Islander
- More than 1,100 of those waiting are American Indian/Alaska Native
United Network for Organ Sharing research revealed that “successful transplantation often is enhanced by the matching of organs between members of the same ethnic and racial group.”
Donate Life America encourages individuals and groups to create 30-60 second videos sharing their donate or transplant story. Share your story on Twitter with the hashtag: #HearMyStoryOf.
Donate Life ECHO resources are available in different languages, as well.
You can register your decision to be an organ, eye, and tissue donor in the Pennsylvania State Registry, in the Medical ID Tab of your iPhone Health App or in Spanish at DoneVida.org.
Pennsylvania hospitals also are working to increase organ donation awareness and designations within their hospital and community through participation in the 2022 Pennsylvania Donate Life Hospital Challenge, The Pennsylvania Department of Health, and the Center for Organ Recovery & Education and Gift of Life Donor Program—the two organ procurement organizations serving Pennsylvania support the Pennsylvania Hospital Challenge.