April 18, 2013

Annual Donate Life event set for April 25

In 2012, 204 lives were saved because of the generosity of 65 individuals at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

In 2012, 204 lives were saved because of the generosity of 65 individuals at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

As part of national Donate Life month, Vanderbilt University Medical Center will celebrate its organ donor families, living donors and hospital staff during an annual Donate Life Vanderbilt Flag Raising Ceremony.

The event will be held Thursday, April 25, at 4 p.m. on the Medical Center plaza.

“As a leading academic medical center, this recognition allows us to show our continued support of these families who have provided the ultimate gift and saved countless lives,” said Lee Parmley, M.D., physician liaison for Vanderbilt’s Organ Donation Advisory Committee.

The demand for organs has outpaced the number available. Every 18 minutes a patient on the waiting list will die, while a new name will be added to the list every 10 minutes.

During Donate Life Vanderbilt, organizers will be hand to encourage event-goers to register to become an organ donor at www.DonateLifeTn.org.