Campaign strives to add 300,000 organ donor registrations in the U.S.

Lake Pointe Medical Center, a part of the Lake Pointe Health Network, has joined the Hospital Donor Registration Campaign as a Hospital Partner.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, the campaign brings together National Partners, local and regional organ, eye, and tissue donation organizations, and hospitals throughout the nation to educate employees and hospital communities on the importance of organ, eye, and tissue donation. The goal of the campaign is to register 300,000 new registered organ donors by April 30, 2012.

“Organ donation saves countless lives each year.  As a Leadership Circle Hospital (top 20 donor hospital for Transplant Services), Lake Pointe is a strong supporter of organ donation and understands the powerful impact it has on our community,” stated Eric Evans, CEO of Lake Pointe Health Network.  “With your support and donor registration, we can save even more lives in the future.  I strongly encourage everyone to sign up to give the gift of life.”

Lake Pointe Medical Center has partnered with Transplant Services at UT Southwestern to bring the Hospital Donor Registration Campaign to the communities served by Lake Pointe Medical Center.

The need is real. Each day, 78 Americans receive life-saving organ transplants and thousands more benefit from cornea and tissue transplants. These extraordinary gifts have been generously donated by ordinary people of all ages and backgrounds who took just a few minutes in a busy day to indicate their decisions to become organ and tissue donors. But broader awareness of the need for organ, eye, and tissue donation is crucial. There are more than 111,000 people awaiting an organ transplant in the United States and each week, more than 100 people on the national transplant waiting list die because no organ is available.

In Texas, there are 11,092 people waiting for an organ transplant (source: US Department of Health and Human Services).

Here are some facts about organ, tissue, and eye donation:

• One organ donor can save as many as eight lives and improve many more through eye and tissue donation.
• Organ transplants have been successfully saving lives for more than 50 years.
• Cornea transplants have been successfully restoring sight for more than 100 years.
• Donated tissues such as skin, bone, and heart valves can dramatically improve the quality of life for recipients, and even save lives.
• Anyone can sign up to be a potential donor regardless of age, race, or medical history.
• More than 90 million people in the United States have registered their decision to donate.

Give the gift of life. Sign up today to become an organ, eye, and tissue donor. To learn more about organ, eye, and tissue donation, and to register your donation decision, visit https://www.donatelifetexas.org/TXDear_Secure/DonorRegistration.aspx.

For more information about Lake Pointe Medical Center’s participation in this campaign, contact Bobby Montgomery at robertr.montgomery@tenethealth.com.

For more information about Transplant Services Center go to www.completingthecircle.org, or call the Outreach Staff at 214-645-8361.

For more information about the national WPFL Hospital Campaign, visit www.organdonor.gov.

ABOUT LAKE POINTE MEDICAL CENTER

Lake Pointe Medical Center is a 112-bed acute care hospital located at 6800 Scenic Drive in Rowlett.  Lake Pointe Medical Center has been serving the residents of Rockwall, Rowlett, Royse City and the surrounding communities since 1987.  The hospital provides a wide spectrum of medical services, including an emergency department with Fast Track services, a 14-bed intensive care unit, women's services, a Level II and Level III NICU, interventional cardiology, diagnostic imaging, and eight operating rooms.  With a medical staff of over 400 physicians, Lake Pointe Medical Center provides most specialty services.  The hospital holds CIGNA Center of Excellence Designations for Laparoscopic Gall Bladder Removal and Vaginal Delivery.  The hospital is designated as a Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission and a Level IV Trauma Center by the Texas Department of State Health Services.  The hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission, the nation’s oldest and largest hospital accreditation agency, licensed by the state of Texas and certified for participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.  To learn more about Lake Pointe Medical Center, visit www.lakepointemedical.com.

ABOUT TRANSPLANT SERVICES CENTER – UTSW Medical Center

Transplant Services Center is a non-profit, full service tissue and eye bank, regulated by the FDA, and accredited by the American Association of Tissue Banks and the Eye Bank Association of America.  It is Texas’s longest continuously accredited tissue and eye bank and one of the nation’s first three accredited tissue banks.

As part of University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center, Transplant Services Center provides corneas and a comprehensive selection of tissue allografts to hospitals and surgery centers throughout North Texas, and when supply permits, across the United States and around the world.  For more information about Transplant Services Center go to www.completingthecircle.org, or call our Outreach Staff at 214-645-8361.