Inova Alexandria Hospital to Fly Donate Life Flag
Flag Raises Awareness for Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation
Alexandria, VA – (March 28, 2011) — Inova Alexandria Hospital and the Washington Regional Transplant Community (WRTC) will recognize National Donate Life Month at the hospital with a flag ceremony. WRTC will present the “Donate Life” flag to Inova Alexandria Hospital on March 31 at 11 a.m. to fly during April.
What:
WRTC Donate Life Flag Ceremony
Where:
Inova Alexandria Hospital, Health Education Center 1& 2
4320 Seminary Rd.
Alexandria, VA
When:
Thursday, March 31st at 11 a.m.
Who:
Christine Candio, CEO, Inova Alexandria Hospital
Lori Brigham, CEO, WRTC
Libby Garvey, spouse of deceased tissue donor
Libby Garvey’s husband Kennan died suddenly of a heart attack in 2008 and was quickly taken to Inova Alexandria Hospital. After he died, Kennan was able to donate tissues to those who required a transplant. Despite this tragedy, Kennan’s legacy lived on. Garvey will be present at the ceremony to share her experiences with being a family member of a deceased organ donor.
The flying of the Donate Life flag is part of “Flags Across America,” a nation-wide effort by hospitals and organ, eye and tissue donation advocacy organizations to bring awareness to the need for donors.
More than 110,000 individuals are currently waiting for an organ transplant to save their lives. Eighteen people die every day for lack of organs available for transplant, yet only 40% of licensed drivers in the U.S. are registered donors. Individuals can save lives by becoming donors in one of two ways—either registering at the DMV when obtaining or renewing driver’s licenses, or by visiting beadonor.org/register.
About Inova Health System:
Inova Health System is a not-for-profit healthcare system based in Northern Virginia that consists of hospitals and other health services, including emergency- and urgent-care centers, home care, nursing homes, mental health and blood donor services, and wellness classes. Governed by a voluntary board of community members, Inova’s mission is to improve the health of the diverse community it serves through excellence in patient care, education and research. Inova provides a healthy environment for its patients, families, visitors, staff and physicians by prohibiting tobacco use on its campuses.
About Washington Regional Transplant Community:
Founded in 1986, Washington Regional Transplant Community (WRTC) is the federally-designated organ procurement organization (OPO) for the metropolitan Washington, DC, area. It is the non-profit agency responsible for recovering and distributing organs and tissues used in lifesaving and life-enhancing transplants as well as for far-reaching medical research and therapy. WRTC covers all of the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia and three suburban counties in Maryland and serves approximately 4.75 million people, 44 hospitals and six transplant centers. It is the mission of WRTC to recover organs and tissues by preserving every donation option, excelling in recovery and placement, and providing care for donors and their families. WRTC’s vision is healing communities through organ and tissue donation.