Elkins Mayor Proclaims April Donate Life Month in City

Elkins, W. Va., April 14, 2020: This week, Elkins Mayor Van Broughton proclaimed April as National Donate Life Month in Elkins. National Donate Life Month honors registered organ donors, donor families, and living donors, as well the researchers, innovators, champions, national partners, and medical professionals who work tirelessly to save and heal lives through transplantation.

According to the Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE), one of 58 federally designated not-for-profit organ procurement organizations (OPOs), the national transplant waiting list currently numbers about 114,000 individuals, including more than 500 in West Virginia.

Another person is added to the national transplant waiting list every 10 minutes, and—on average—22 people die every day because the organs they need are not donated in time. By becoming an organ, tissue, and cornea donor, one individual can save and improve the lives of more than seventy-five people.

Looking on as the mayor signed the proclamation was Phillips Kolsun, an Elkins resident and liver transplant recipient.

“Organ donation saves lives—I know, because it saved mine,” said Kolsun. “Registering as an organ donor is a simple way to make a huge difference in the lives of others. The Center for Organ Recovery and Education has a lot of resources for anyone interested in learning more.”

CORE works closely with donor families and designated health care professionals to coordinate the surgical recovery of organs, tissues, and corneas for transplantation. The organization also facilitates the computerized matching of donated organs and placement of corneas. With headquarters in Pittsburgh and an office in Charleston, West Virginia, CORE oversees a region that encompasses 155 hospitals and almost six million people throughout western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Chemung County, New York.

For more information, visit www.core.org or call 1-800-DONORS-7.