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Tuesday, July 15, 2003 Press Release SOURCE: LifeSharers LifeSharers Membership Reaches 1,000 MarkInnovative Organ Donors Network Attracts 1,000th Member NASHVILLE, Tenn. – July 15, 2003 – LifeSharers, a non-profit network of organ donors that offers members preferred access to the organs of fellow members, has attracted its 1,000th member. This milestone was reached in LifeSharers’ 14th month of operation. LifeSharers was launched a year ago to help alleviate the shortage of human organs and tissue needed for transplant operations. That shortage kills over 6,000 Americans every year, and gets larger every day. “LifeSharers gives people a better chance to live if they agree to donate their organs when they die,” explains David J. Undis, the organization’s Executive Director. “This helps people overcome the fears and inertia sometimes associated with thinking about signing an organ donor card.” LifeSharers members agree to donate their organs and tissue when they die. They direct their donation first to other members of the LifeSharers network (unless no member is a suitable match). By giving fellow members first access to their organs, LifeSharers members reward organ donors and create an incentive for others to become donors. Mr. Undis adds, “More than half the people who need an organ transplant in America die before they get one. Rewarding organ donation will produce more organ donors, and that will save thousands of lives a year.” There has been a shortage of organs ever since the first transplant operations, and the shortage is getting worse every year. According to statistics compiled by the United Network for Organ Sharing, over 82,000 Americans are now on a waiting list for an organ transplant, and another name gets added to the list about every 14 minutes. Somebody on the waiting list dies about every 90 minutes. LifeSharers membership is free and open to all at http://www.lifesharers.org. LifeSharers does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical handicap, health status, marital status, or economic status. About LifeSharers LifeSharers is a 501(c)(3) non-profit network of organ donors. Membership in LifeSharers is free and open to all. Since its launch on May 22, 2002, LifeSharers has attracted 1,003 members in 46 states and the District of Columbia. The LifeSharers web site is at http://www.lifesharers.org. Contact:
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