Hennepin Healthcare hosts flag raising ceremony to honor National Donate Life Month
On Wednesday, April 3, 2024, Hennepin Healthcare, in partnership with LifeSource – the organ procurement organization serving Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota – will celebrate National Donate Life Month with a flag raising ceremony at 11 a.m. Family members and other special guests who have been touched by the donation process will be present at the event. They will be joined by LifeSource and Lions Gift of Sight, as well as team members from Hennepin Healthcare’s Kidney Transplant Program. The Donate Life flag has become a national symbol of unity, remembrance, and hope, while honoring those touched by donation and transplantation.
Hennepin Healthcare ranks 1st of all hospital partners for LifeSource their Donor Service Area for number of organ donors. This past year, 89 people received the gift of life from 33 donors at Hennepin Healthcare. The 99 organs that were transplanted included 56 kidneys, 25 livers, 9 hearts, 6 sets of lungs, and 3 pancreases. More than 4,300 people will benefit from 58 tissue donors. Hennepin Healthcare’s Transplant Clinic performed 61 kidney transplants from 52 deceased donors and 9 living donors, and these gifts just keep on giving as they enrich the lives of recipients and those who love them. In 2023, eighty-six eye donors at Hennepin Healthcare gave the Gift of Sight, and those generous gifts supported Lions Gift of Sight’s transplantation, research, and medical education programs.
On average, 17 people die every day waiting for their transplant; and a new name is added to the list every 9 minutes. One donor can save up to 8 lives through organ donation and improve over 75 lives through tissue and eye donation. In Minnesota, nearly 2,300 people are waiting to receive lifesaving organ transplants.
What: Hennepin Healthcare celebrates National Donate Life Month with Flag Raising Ceremony
When: 11 a.m., Wednesday, April 3, 2023
Where: Hennepin Healthcare’s 717 S. 6th St. entrance by the flagpole
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About Hennepin Healthcare
Hennepin Healthcare is a nationally recognized system of care that includes HCMC, a Level I Trauma Center and public teaching hospital. The centerpiece of Hennepin County’s clinical health services, Hennepin Healthcare offers a full spectrum of inpatient and outpatient services, including its Kidney Transplant Program, celebrating 61 years of providing kidney transplant services to patients and their families.
About LifeSource
LifeSource is the non-profit organization dedicated to saving lives through organ, eye, and tissue donation in the Upper Midwest, serving more than seven million people in communities across Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and portions of western Wisconsin. LifeSource manages the donation process, encourages the community to join the donor registry and supports donor families through their loved one’s donation and in the months and years that follow. Learn more at http://www.life-source.org.
About Lions Gift of Sight
Lions Gift of Sight (LGS) is a community-based non-profit eye bank. Founded in 1960, it is the oldest anatomic donation organization in Minnesota. LGS serves the needs of donors in Minnesota, western Wisconsin, and North Dakota and distributes corneas and ocular tissue for transplantation, research, and medical education throughout the world.
