FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, April 10, 2017
Contact: Kristen Muszynski
626-8404/ 441-7638

Secretary Dunlap to recognize Donate Life Month during statehouse ceremony Wednesday

AUGUSTA – Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap will join the families of organ donors and transplant recipients at the statehouse on Wednesday to celebrate the life-saving opportunities of organ and tissue donation.

The Donate Life gathering, to take place in the Maine Statehouse Hall of Flags staircase area on Wednesday, April 12 at 1:45 p.m., commemorates those who have received or continue to wait for lifesaving transplants, as well as the families of individuals who chose to be donors. 

Secretary Dunlap will speak about the role of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, which provides Mainers the opportunity to sign up as organ donors through their driver’s license. The BMV plays an important role in the donation process, since 99 percent of those who register as an organ and tissue donor do so while conducting business through the bureau, in person or online. 

Additional featured speakers on Wednesday include Jay Ford, parent of a pediatric organ transplant patient; John Coniaris, a heart recipient; and Matt Boger of New England Donor Services. Members of the Maine Advisory Council on Organ and Tissue Donation will also be participating, as will state legislators.

Student artists who participated in the Organ Donation High School Posters Contest will also be recognized during the event.

April is Donate Life Month and the celebration seeks to inform the public of the benefits of organ donation, and to encourage registration as an organ donor. In 2016, 1,033 lives were saved in New England because of the generosity of individuals who became organ donors.  Thousands more lives were enhanced through the gift of tissue donation. Still, there are more than 118,500 patients now on the transplant wait list nationwide.

For more information on organ donation, and to register as a donor, visit The Maine Department of the Secretary of State Donate Life page  or www.DonateLifeNewEngland.org.