Give the Gift of Life on Saturn National Donor Day - Feb. 14
11 Februar 2004 - 4:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
Give the Gift of Life on Saturn National Donor Day - Feb. 14
DETROIT, Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- On and around Feb. 14, 2004,
hundreds of participating Saturn retailers will host the seventh
annual Saturn National Donor Day -- a national campaign to
encourage blood, marrow and blood stem cell, organ and tissue
donation, as well as create awareness about the importance of a
signed and witnessed donor registration card. It is the largest
one-day lifesaving donation drive in the United States. Saturn
Corporation, its United Auto Workers (UAW) partners and many of the
nation's leading non-profit health organizations will partner to
encourage people and communities to incorporate donation into their
Valentine's Day activities. This is not a one-day event, however.
Saturn is encouraging people to make donation a part of their life
every day. The need for donation is significant: - More than 80,000
people in the United States are waiting for a lifesaving organ
transplant. - On average, 18 people die each day because necessary
organs are not available. - Approximately 30,000 patients each year
are diagnosed with leukemia or other blood diseases that are
potentially treatable with marrow cell transplants -- but just one
in three will find a donor match within their family. - Blood
transfusions save approximately 10,000 people every day in the
United States, but blood is typically in short supply during
February. "Lives are saved every day by blood, tissue and organ
donations, and we are actively working to save many more," said
Jill Lajdziak, Saturn vice president of sales, service and
marketing. "I applaud our Saturn retailers for taking the
initiative to make this program a success each year." Saturn
National Donor Day activities also emphasize the importance of
letting family members know of a donation decision. Chris Klug, an
Olympic pro-snowboard medalist and liver transplant recipient, is a
spokesperson for the 2004 campaign: "My life was saved by the
incredible generosity of a donor family I had never before met, and
that act of kindness enabled me to resume my athletic career and
bring home an Olympic medal for my country. I encourage everyone to
commit to lifesaving donation and equally important, discuss that
decision with your family." Another spokesperson, Cy Young
award-winning pitcher Barry Zito of the Oakland As, knows just how
important donation can be -- his mother received a liver transplant
in 1999. "It is hard to imagine a greater generosity than giving
life itself," Zito said. "We are eternally grateful and we
encourage every American family to commit to donation." Tommy
Thompson, the U.S. Secretary for Health and Human Services, lends
his support each year. Inaddition, Ken Howard of NBC's Crossing
Jordan and Trey Schwaub a coach at Marquette University speak on
behalf of the program. Participation in Saturn National Donor Day
is simple and easy: - Organ and tissue donation pledge cards will
be available at all Saturn retail facilities. - Many Saturn
retailers will offer marrow testing to join the National Marrow
Registry -- it's a simple blood test and anyone between the ages of
18 and 60, and in general good health, can join the registry. -
Blood drives will be held at many Saturn locations and, where not
available, blood donation may be pledged for a later date or
different location. Organizers hope to collect the 50,000th unit of
blood since Saturn National Donor Day first launched in 1998. In
addition, more than 8,000 potential marrow donors have been added
to the National Marrow Donor Program Registry, and 10 potentially
lifesaving marrow matches have occurred so far from Saturn Donor
Day registrants. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
and 16 national non-profit partners, as well as hundreds of local
blood banks and community health organizations, help make the
Saturn National Donor Day possible. The national non-profit
partners include: American Association of Blood Banks; American
Liver Foundation; American Society of Transplant Surgeons;
America's Blood Centers; Association of Organ Procurement
Organizations; Children's Organ Transplant Association; Coalition
on Donation; Emergency Nurses Association; Juvenile Diabetes
Research Foundation International; Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
of America; LifeSouth Community Blood Centers; The Marrow
Foundation; National Kidney Foundation; National Marrow Donor
Program; and the National Minority Organ Tissue Transplant
Education Program. More information about Saturn National Donor Day
can be found at any participating Saturn retail location.
Information also is available by visiting http://www.saturn.com/ or
http://www.saturnuaw.com/ . DATASOURCE:Saturn Corporation CONTACT:
Cindy Kamerad of Hass MS&L, +1-248-458-8372, Email: ; or Sue
Holmgren of Saturn Communications, +1-313-665-4233, Email: Web
site: http://media.gm.com/ http://www.gm.com/
http://www.saturn.com/ http://www.saturnuaw.com/
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