PRESS RELEASE FROM SOUTH CAROLINA ORGAN PROCUREMENT AGENCY
Donor Sabbath Weekend
Brings Religious Communities Together
Columbia-November 15-17, 1996, will mark a special time in South Carolina’s religious community as congregations and clergy unite to increase awareness about the need for organ and tissue donation during Donor Sabbath Weekend. The first of its kind, Donor Sabbath Weekend will allow the state’s religious communities to participate in this interfaith effort by informing their congregations about organ and tissue donation through the following activities:
Today, there are over 53,000 people on the national waiting list for a life-saving organ transplant. More than 500 South Carolinians are on this list. Donor Sabbath Weekend is sponsored by the SC Organ Procurement Agency, Inc. (SCOPA), a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging people to give the legacy of life and love. For more information on how you can participate in Donor Sabbath Weekend, please call (800) 462-0755 or (803) 782-3173. ### PRESS RELEASE FROM REGIONAL ORGAN BANK OF ILLINOIS, INC.National Donor Sabbath Brings Religious Communities Together For Organ & Tissue Donation
CHICAGO - November 15-17, 1996, marks a special time in religious communities in (Illinois or Indiana) as congregations and clergy unite during the first annual National Donor Sabbath to increase awareness about the critical need for organ and tissue donation. "Many of the religious faiths in ROBI’s service area have offered to spread the word about organ and tissue donation," said ROBI President Jarold Anderson. "After this weekend, it is our hope that many families will have shared their feelings about organ and tissue donation with each other and have signed donor cards." Anderson notes that while organ transplants are saving lives and improving the quality of life for recipients, the need for donated organs far exceeds the available number of organs. As of September 1, more than 48,000 people were waiting for an organ transplant in the United States. More than 2,700 of those individuals were waiting for their transplants at one of the 10 organ transplant center hospitals in ROBI’s service area. "Organ and tissue donation truly is an unselfish act of kindness and charity that can help restore the quality of life to those for whom health has diminished and for whom their very existence may be threatened," Anderson said. "A nationally observed Donor Sabbath through religious communities, will draw attention to the critical shortage of donated organs and tissues and encourage families to share their feelings about organ and tissue donation. Raising awareness about the benefits of organ/tissue donation can help meet the demand. More donated organs and tissues will mean more transplants and more people who will be restored to health or given the Gift of Life itself." Religious leaders are invited to call Lorraine Willmot, ROBI’s Communications Specialist, at 312/431-3600, for materials to commemorate National Donor Sabbath in their congregations. *******
PRESS RELEASE FROM ILLINOIS SECRETARY OF STATERyan: First ‘National Donor Sabbath’ is November 15-17, 1996SPRINGFIELD - Secretary of State George H. Ryan today joined other state and national advocates of organ and tissue donation in urging Illinois religious leaders to observe the country’s first National Donor Sabbath, November 15-17, 1996. "The vast majority of western religions support organ donation," Ryan said, "but many of their followers are unaware of this support. People sometimes decline to be organ and tissue donors because they are unsure of their church or synagogue’s position." "The purpose of National Donor Sabbath is to spread the word that organ donation is viewed as a final act of charity and love by most religions," Ryan said. "While genuine religious or personal objections to organ donation should be respected, some people incorrectly assume their church or synagogue is opposed to the concept," he said. "They need to hear directly from their religious leaders that organ donation is not only supported, but in many cases encouraged." Ryan’s "Life Goes On" program is providing brochures and displays to transplant recipients and donor families and encouraging them to discuss organ donation with their religious leaders and to help implement Donor Sabbath at their place of worship. Ryan asked them to stress four key points:
for organs.
"We have always encouraged people who want to be donors to talk about their decision with their families," Ryan said. "Donor Sabbath is our way of encouraging people to discuss this topic with their religious leaders, too. With help from Illinois religious leaders, we can educate the public and save more lives." PRESS RELEASE FROM CALIFORNIA TRANSPLANT DONOR NETWORKReligious Leaders Celebrate Second National Donor Sabbath Weekend
For Immediate Release For More Information Contact: Carolyn Berry 800-553-6667 office 415-997-2316 pager San Francisco (November 7, 1997) - Bay Area religious communities will celebrate the Second Annual National Donor Sabbath during worship services November 14-16, 1997. This ecumenical celebration of life reminds congregations across America of their faiths’ support of donation and encourages them to discuss organ and tissue donation with their families. "Traditionally, religious leaders have been seen as physicians of the soul," said the Reverend William C. Rainford II, a heart recipient and assisting priest at The Episcopal Church of Saint John the Baptist in Capitola, CA. "Today, we have a unique role in health care. We can be instrumental in the miracle of transplantation by helping others learn about organ and tissue donation before a crisis arises." A recent Gallup poll shows that fewer than 10 percent of people in the United States know their religion has doctrines regarding organ and tissue donation. Though these beliefs differ from denomination to denomination, the underlying theme is the same: organ and tissue donation represents one of the highest forms of loving, giving, and caring - the principles upon which all religions are based. "Studies show that next to physicians, most people seek advice about donation from their religious leaders," said Phyllis Weber, executive director of the California Transplant Donor Network. "This weekend sets aside a special time for clergy and congregations to talk about donation." More than 8,000 Californians today need organ transplants. Thousands more need tissue transplants. Across the country, more than 53,000 need organ transplants. Sadly, every two hours one person dies before receiving a chance for restored health. To learn more about organ and tissue donation, call the California Transplant Donor Network at 800-553-6667. ###
DO’S AND DON’TS WHEN INITIATING PRESS COVERAGE FOR NATIONAL DONOR SABBATHKathy Driscoll, TransLife, Orlando, Florida Do’s
1. When you send your primary press release on the National Donor Sabbath event, follow-up your press release with a phone call offering to provide a unique story angle or unique source (i.e., an exclusive). 2. Find out if you’d be better off approaching the city desk assignment editor or the religion editor/writer at your paper. 3. Start developing your relationship with the key editor right NOW instead of waiting until you have your one main event to promote. You need to offer them a real story angle eventually, but you could start by just making an introductory call and offering your services if they ever think about doing a story on your related topic areas. 4. Identify a clergy spokesperson who is (or can become) an expert in your topic area. Make sure they’re available for interviews at the time the press release goes out. 5. Identify a visual element of your story angle, especially for television, but even for print media. Examples of visual elements: Special gathering of donor families; photos of donors; clergy speaking to community group on a different occasion; donor families and transplant recipients who are gathered together for a photo opportunity. (Be sure to have everyone’s permission.) 6. Have background material ready to send/fax as a response to your press release, i.e., a list showing the policy statements of various religious groups toward organ and tissue donation. 7. Consider having a special event that weekend to commemorate the message. Plan the event to be successful in its own right even if it did not receive media coverage, but plan some elements that are designed to increase your chance of coverage that day. 8. Collaborate with other groups that have "official" information and spokespersons ready., i.e., DOT, UNOS, TRIO, and your local OPO. 9. Collaborate with other established groups you’ve never worked with before but who have resources (volunteers, money, media contacts that you don’t have, i.e., church school clubs, ethics committees from the local church diocese, etc.)
Press Coverage Do’s and Don’ts - Page 2 Don’ts
1. Don’t delay in returning a reporter/editor’s call when they respond to your press coverage if you weren’t available when they called. 2. Don’t try to control the content of the coverage too much. Give them choices for story angles and interviews and let them take their choice. They will respect you as a resource (and you have excised a little control in offering them these choices). 3. Don’t limit yourself to thinking that this is only a religious interest story. This is really a human interest story and might take lots of angles. 4. Don’t think of this as a chance to promote your institution or group. If you collaborate with other groups, or even if you don’t, your chances of getting this human interest story told are greater if it appears your self-interests are minimal. 5. Don’t rest on your laurels if the local tv assignment desk or local editor says "that sounds interesting . . . send me the press release" four days before National Donor Sabbath starts. Especially, if you have a special event, contact the assignment desk the day of your event and make sure the person who is working that day knows about your event. 6. Don’t forget to contact the religious press in your area. This includes newspapers, magazines, and television shows. Most denominations have their own publications. 7. Don’t be discouraged if your efforts to generate publicity did not get you anywhere this time. You have built relationships with the media contacts that you should take advantage of . . . identify a possible story the following week or month and try to pitch that one. They’ll remember who you are!
SAMPLE PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release For further information, contact: (your name)
Local Religious Congregations Participate in 1997 National Donor Sabbath
(Your city/date) - Area congregation (s) (_____________________) are among the thousands of religious institutions that will participate in National Donor Sabbath during the weekend of November 14-16, 1997. This weekend sets aside a special time for clergy and congregations to talk about the urgent need for organ and tissue donation. National Donor Sabbath is supported by (list your OPO and other local supporters) and the Division of Transplantation, Health Resources and Services Administration. The weekend was chosen because of its proximity to Thanksgiving and it is an interfaith time to focus on an issue of life and thanksgiving. A recent CNN/USA Today Gallup poll shows that 93 percent of people in the United States are affiliated with a religious institution and 43 percent attend a religious congregation almost every week. Thus, religious leaders can play a vital role in the National Donor Sabbath observation by addressing the issue of organ and tissue donation during their time of worship. (Insert paragraph here on your specific congregation: name of it, specific activity the congregation did to participate in the event, highlight a local donor or recipient story, etc.) The National Donor Sabbath observation is an opportunity for the religious community to touch the lives of millions of people. More than 54,000 people are currently on the national waiting list to receive an organ transplant; more than (your area - provide local statistics) currently need organ transplant. Thousands more need tissue transplants. Unfortunately, nearly 4,000 people die each year while waiting for a life-saving transplant. To learn more about organ and tissue donation, call (your OPO name and phone number).
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DONOR FAMILY STORIES
The following stories were taken from the 1997 National Donor Recognition Ceremony. Every recipient and every donor family has a story to share. You may want to use these stories to attract the media or you may be inspired to write about the stories of your local donor families.
Sponsoring Organ Procurement Organization: Midwest Organ Bank, Westwood, Kansas Debbie is a donor mother who attended the National Donor Recognition Ceremony April 12 and 13. Her son, Luke, was an organ and tissue donor in August 1995. Debbie is an RN, having worked as an ICU nurse. She was "on the outskirts of the donation process, never involved in patient care." Since Luke’s death, she has participated in television interviews, was a guest speaker at her local "Celebration of Life" event, and has attended organ and tissue council meetings at her local hospitals.
Sponsoring Organ Procurement Organization: Delaware Valley Transplant Program, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Christopher was 27 years old when he died on October 29, 1996 while traveling with a friend in the United States. Christopher was a citizen of Canada where his parents, sister, and two brothers reside. His family, very soon after their son died, decided to write to all the recipients to tell them about Christopher and how donation has helped them deal with their grief. This family has received much media attention in Canada. They have become strong proponents of organ and tissue donation, and have used every opportunity available to them to educate others on the need for organ donation. The family focuses on the good that has occurred as a result of their personal tragedy. Their ability to think of the recipients, to reach out to them through letters, and to pray for their continuing good health is a wonderful example of pure altruism.
Sponsoring Organ Procurement Organization: Nevada Donor Network, Las Vegas, Nevada Susan became a donor mom when her 14-year-old daughter Amanda was killed in a car accident more than 4 years ago. Susan had discussions with her children about organ donation, "retelling the story about their great grandma’s cornea donation in 1960, which allowed two people to see." Susan’s children made their own decisions to be donors, if something ever happened to any of them. When Amanda was diagnosed as "brain dead" and the option of donation was given to Amanda’s family, the answer was "yes" to organ and tissue donation. The unique part about Amanda’s story is that she had decided to grow her hair "to her knees" and have it cut off and made into a wig for a child with cancer. At her death, her hair was made into a wig and donated to a little girl at the City of Hope, whose own hair had fallen out from radiation and chemotherapy.
Susan is now an education coordinator at Nevada Donor Network and teaches nurses and doctors about the approach and decoupling process with donor families, and the general public about organ and tissue donation. She is a donor family editor for the National Donor Family Council newsletter, "For Those Who Give and Grieve."
Sponsoring Organ Procurement Organization: LifeNet, Virginia Beach, Virginia Joni clearly remembers the day she and her husband, Mike, talked about donation. Joni, a dental hygienist, had treated a patient that day whom she had not seen in a while. As it turned out, the gentleman, looking and reportedly feeling quite well, had recently had a heart transplant. "It saved and changed my life in ways you cannot imagine," he had told Joni. She excitedly told Mike about seeing that patient, and they both agreed that if anything ever happened to them, they wanted to be donors. The very next morning, Joni was getting their two children ready for school. During a typical day in their household, Mike was getting ready for work, Joni would be going to work, and the kids would be at school. Mike ventured out to the garage to get something, and Joni and the children heard an unusual noise. Mike had collapsed. After he was declared dead that morning, Joni told the hospital staff to move at once to make donation happen. "They looked at me blankly," she said. But donation did occur, and Mike was a donor. Involvement in donor family activities and other bereavement practices led Joni to the conclusion that there was something she could offer to help families going through what she had been through. She learned therapeutic massage, and combines grief care with relaxation therapy for people in grief. She is an active volunteer for LifeNet, and relates her story to audiences very movingly. Joni and her children - Becca and Mike - attended the 1997 National Donor Family Recognition Ceremony.
Sponsoring Organ Procurement Organization: Southwest Transplant Alliance Dallas, Texas Eddie received a heart transplant in 1987, from a 17-year-old young man. Ironically, Laurie and Eddie’s son, Michael, died at the age of 17 from injuries resulting from an automobile accident. He became an organ and tissue donor in February 1995. Eddie and Laurie threw themselves into planning the first Circle of Love Memorial Walk and Run in March 1996, which benefited El Paso Transplant Recipients International Organization (TRIO). The event attracted more than 1,000 walkers and runners, and raised more than $20,000 for community education activities. The family recently planned the event for the second year, and raised more than $25,000. It is probably because the family allowed TRIO and Southwest Transplant Alliance to associate Michael’s name with the race, that more young people took part in this race than any other in El Paso.
Sponsoring Organ Procurement Organization: Iowa Statewide Organ Procurement Organization, Iowa City, Iowa The people whom we remember today are truly heroes. They lost their lives and in return made miracles by saving a few fortunate souls along the way. If these people had been wearing uniforms, they would have been honored with medals and ribbons. Their faces would be known to all and they would be adored by the masses. They gave the ultimate sacrifice, not for the good of their country, but simply for the good of a few others who wouldn’t have had a chance otherwise. There were no medals, no ribbons, no marching bands, no ticker tape parades - but the quiet sorrow of those who loved them, and the quiet joy of those they saved. My baby brother Chad is one of those heroes. He became the first organ donor of 1995 in Iowa on January 10. He was struck by a speeding car on his way to his grandparents’ house after basketball practice. Despite wholehearted attempts to save his life, nothing could be done. His body surrendered early on a Tuesday morning. If anyone deserved a second chance, it was that kid. He wasn’t the All American boy, a star athlete, or an honor student. He wasn’t the most likely to succeed or even the most improved player. When he was 15, we weren’t sure what he was going to be, but we knew who he was, and what he was made of. He was creative, funny, and a driven young man; he never quit. This didn’t make him captain of the team or student body president, but it made him strong, it made him willing and, most of all, caring for no reason. He wasn’t thoughtful only when it was convenient for him or when it suited his purpose. He was just an outstanding human being.
Sponsoring Organ Procurement Organization: University of Arizona Medical Center Nancy received a life-saving heart/lung transplant on March 11, 1988 at the University of Arizona Medical Center. She also became the first Domino transplant ever performed at this University - Nancy’s still healthy heart was transplanted into Troy who was dying of heart disease, while she received the heart and lungs from an organ donor. Nancy had been diagnosed with a life-threatening lung disease (primary hypertension), and due to the shortage of organs, Dr. Jack Copeland performed this historic transplant. Being a live donor and giving the "Gift of Life" is not Nancy’s only accomplishment. She is a wife and the mother of three children. Since the time of her surgery, she has maintained a full-time position as a supervisor with Lucky Supermarkets, and has volunteered her time to Girl Scouts, Parent Teacher Club, DMC, Hospital Auxiliary, KIDS SAFE, and the C.T.D.N.’s "Volunteers For Life." In the past, she has spoken to many service clubs, teachers’ groups, and at medical symposiums. She has also started a donation awareness program in her local school system. Together with Troy, she has appeared on nationally syndicated television programs and at various symposia in Arizona, Colorado, and California. Nancy’s message is a simple one: Without organ donation she would not be alive today! She also emphasizes that it is not enough just to sign a DMV card to become an organ and tissue donor; more importantly, the decision to donate must be shared with family members.
Sponsoring Organ Procurement Organization: Intermountain Organ Recovery System, Salt Lake City, Utah Wayne lost his 9-year-old son, Adam, in an automobile accident in May 1995. Extensive media attention surrounded that tragedy and the family’s decision to donate Adam’s organs. What makes this story particularly special is a meeting that Wayne and his wife Brenda had with Adam’s liver recipient, a 21-year-old man, and his wife. Adam’s liver recipient had been experiencing intense guilt since his transplant and could not come to terms with the fact that a child had died, thus enabling him to live. Wayne was able to help relieve this man’s intense suffering by stating, "You are in no way responsible for my son’s death; however, it is because of you that my son’s death has meaning and it is because of you and his other recipients that I can better accept this loss. Why else would a 9 year old boy die if not to help others?" During this meeting, the two families became very close. About a year after this first meeting, the liver recipient and his wife had their first child. They named their child Adam after the 9-year-old boy who made it possible for their child to be born. Wayne was also a donor family speaker at the Transplant Games in Salt Lake City in 1997. He has spoken publicly on many occasions and is a media spokesperson.
SAMPLE RADIO AND TV SOUND BITES FOR NATIONAL DONOR SABBATH
Celebrate National Donor Sabbath during November 14-16, 1997. Take a moment to discuss organ and tissue donation with your family. For more information, call _________________________________.
This year National Donor Sabbath will be celebrated on November 14-16, 1997. To learn how your congregation can participate, contact ____________________________________________________.
The weekend of November 14-16, 1997, is designated as National Donor Sabbath. This annual observance has been established to raise awareness, through religious communities, of the urgent need for organ and tissue donors. Members of the clergy are invited to participate. Please contact ______________________ for additional information.
Did you know that over 54,000 people are currently waiting for an organ transplant? This weekend, religious congregations across the country will be participating in National Donor Sabbath - a time for people of all faiths to come together around an issue of life and thanksgiving. To learn how you can become an organ and tissue donor, contact _______________________________________________.
Signing the back of your driver’s license is not enough!! During National Donor Sabbath, November 14-16, 1997, religious congregations across the country will be educated by their clergy leaders about the urgent need for organ and tissue donors. To learn how your congregation can participate, contact ___________________________.
Do you know what your religion’s views are about organ and tissue donation? The vast majority of religions in the United States support organ and tissue donation. During the weekend of November 14-16, 1997, religious leaders will participate in National Donor Sabbath by informing their congregations about the urgent need for organ and tissue donors. For more information, call ____________________.
SAMPLE FACT SHEET ON ORGAN AND TISSUE DONATION
Note: Include your own facts based on your location and objectives. |
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