CANANDAIGUA — A simple flag-raising at F.F. Thompson Hospital is meant to spark a powerful conversation this month about the lifesaving impact of organ donation.
UR Medicine Thompson Health is marking National Donate Life Month by raising a Donate Life flag outside the Constellation Center for Health and Healing on Wednesday, with the display set to remain through April 30.
Hospital officials say the effort is aimed at encouraging more residents to enroll in the New York State Donate Life Registry, as thousands across the state continue to wait for transplants.
The campaign will continue Friday, April 10, when members of the hospital’s Donate Life Committee host an informational table outside the cafeteria. The date also coincides with Donate Life Blue & Green Day, a national observance that encourages people to wear blue and green to promote awareness.
Throughout April, Thompson Health is also sharing personal stories from staff members whose lives have been impacted by organ donation, highlighting both donors and recipients.
According to Donate Life New York State, more than 8,000 New Yorkers are currently on the national transplant waiting list. Officials note that a single organ donor can save up to eight lives and improve dozens more through eye and tissue donation.
Health officials also emphasize that living donation remains an option, with individuals able to donate certain organs and tissues, including a kidney or part of the liver, while still alive.
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