CORE Corporate Bro 11x8-5 v07_layout 1 12/7/ :48 AM Page 1 A PARTNER FOR LIFE

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1 CORE Corporate Bro 11x8-5 v07_layout 1 12/7/ :48 AM Page 1 A PARTNER FOR LIFE

2 COMPASSION AT WORK Whether you ve been directly affected by organ, tissue or cornea transplantation, we all know somebody whose life has been touched by the generosity of a donor. Friends. Family. Co-workers. When someone receives a life-changing organ, tissue or cornea transplant, everyone in their life benefits as the joy of a second chance spreads. Sadly, the need for organ, tissue and cornea transplants is vastly greater than the amount donated. But by Partnering for Life, your company can help. Our CORE Family: Thank you for your participation. On cover (clockwise from top left): Kyree Beachum, Recipient; Nikki McKenna, Recipient; Tom Meshanko, Recipient; Heather Chestney, Donor Family and Recipient Family; Laura Clark, Living Donor

3 Center for Organ Recovery & Education CORE is one of 58 federally designated not-for-profit organ procurement organizations (OPOs) in the United States. 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, NY. TRANSPLANT CENTERS Each of the hospitals in CORE s designated service area serve as referral sites for potential donors. Five of the hospitals also perform life-saving organ transplants: Allegheny General Hospital Charleston Area Medical Center Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC UPMC Presbyterian Hospital VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System We work closely with donor families and designated health care professionals to deliver the gift of hope by coordinating the surgical recovery of organs, tissues and corneas for transplantation. CORE also facilitates the computerized matching of organs, tissues and corneas. With integrity and compassion, our goal is to bridge the gap between donor families, health care providers and transplant recipients so that we may forever transform lives.

4 Partnering for Life is an extension of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the country s largest educational initiative targeted toward employers, employees and unions. Through the initial endeavor, 345 corporations, unions, trade associations and hospitals in CORE s service area distributed information on organ, tissue and cornea donation to employees or members. Today, there are more than 11,000 organizations involved in the program. The educational initiative has reached more than a million people. Partnering for Life gives employees the chance to become informed about donation, and provides an opportunity to increase the number of organ, tissue and cornea donors. Why you should become a Partner for Life: Recognition for your organization on local and national Web sites and publications An opportunity to network with other organizations who are Partners for Life Benefits for employees, including: - Service and volunteer opportunities - Motivation, inspiration and team building - A chance to make a difference and save lives How to get involved: Contact CORE at 800-DONORS-7 ( ) for more information. Implement the suggestions on the next page: Ideas for Action, or create your own. Materials for OOO implementing OOO this partnership OOO will be OOO provided by CORE free OOO of charge. Participation OOO requires no OOO financial or staffing OOO resources from your OOO company or organization. OOO OOO OOO

5 As a Partner for Life, there are a variety of initiatives your organization can undertake to promote organ, tissue and cornea donation. You have the power to share our message and ultimately save and enhance many lives. Send an message promoting donation from the president/ceo to each employee. Distribute educational materials about donation to employees. Invite guest speakers to talk about how donation has touched their lives during department or group meetings or special events for the entire staff. Add an organ, tissue and cornea donation message to employee pay stubs or include donation paycheck stuffers. Add a link to CORE on your Web site for more information. Include an article about donation in your newsletter. Include facts or personal interest stories written by or about an organ recipient or donor family. Hold a special donor registry sign-up drive. Some companies create competitions among departments. Post the Partnering for Life and other educational materials on company bulletin boards in waiting areas, lobbies, break rooms or other high traffic areas. Sponsor a CORE activity or event. Sponsor a local recipient athlete in the U.S. Transplant Games. Special annual celebrations for consideration: National Donor Day February 14 National Eye Donor Month March National Donate Life Month April National Minority Donor Awareness Day August 1 National Donor Sabbath November To facilitate Partnering for Life, you may need to appoint ambassadors for life, employees who will spearhead the program. The ambassadors should be dynamic individuals who are proponents of donation and transplantation. They will work closely with CORE to implement the project at the corporate level. For details, materials or suggestions, please call CORE at 800-DONORS-7 ( ).

6 CORE Corporate Bro 11x8-5 v07_layout 1 12/7/ :48 AM Page 6 DONATION STATS Organs that can be donated include the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, pancreas and intestine. One organ donor can save eight lives. Luke Ball, Recipient Tissue donation includes skin, bone, heart valves, veins and tendons. Someone is added to the organ transplant list every 12 minutes, and 250,000 people await tissue and cornea transplants each day. Although medical science and technology continue to advance, the demand for organs is vastly greater than the number of organs donated. Nationally, more than 110,000 people are awaiting an organ transplant. At least 18 will die each day without receiving one, including two from CORE s service area. THANK YOU

7 After losing our first child to Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease (ARPKD), our family was devastated to find out that our son Bennett, who was born nine weeks premature, had the same rare genetic condition. Bennett was in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Children s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC for the first 12 weeks of his life. At the age of six weeks, doctors removed both of his kidneys and then placed him on peritoneal dialysis. The first year on peritoneal dialysis went well; however, he developed multiple infections and was placed on hemodialysis. This was heartbreaking for my wife and me, as she and my son had to spend five hours a day, three days a week at the hospital for his dialysis. My wife and I wanted desperately to save our son s life, so we went through testing to see if beyond blood type either of us was a match for kidney donation. Unfortunately, the test results showed that my wife had a different blood type, and I had blood antigens that would cause immediate rejection, so we were both unable to be a match. Bennett went on the kidney transplant waiting list at two years of age. Our lives changed forever when we received the call that a kidney was available. When you are on the transplant waiting list, you never think that the call will come because you know how rare the availability of pediatric organs is. The donor was a 17-year-old-female from Nashville, Tennessee. Our son had his transplant the next day. Words cannot express how I felt knowing that my son was going to have a transplant or how thankful we have been to the donor and her family. I am amazed at how selfless a family can be in a time of such tragedy. My wife and I now have a sense of normalcy with life and our marriage, and our son now has a second chance at a relatively normal life. Dean M. Huibregtse Director of Global Sales, Medrad Medrad is a Partner for Life.

8 204 Sigma Drive Pittsburgh, PA DONORS-7 ( ) A Donate Life Organization