North Okaloosa Medical center observes National Donate Life Month

CRESTVIEW — North Okaloosa Medical Center celebrates National Donate Life Month, a celebration commemorating those who have given the gift of llfe through organ, eye and tissue donation. For those whose lives have been saved or healed by a transplant, National Donate Life Month provides a chance to share their story to encourage more people to register as donors.

Hospital employees will have a National Donate Life Month observance. They will raise a flag in honor of donors and their families at 9 a.m. April 18 at the main entrance, 151 Redstone Ave. E, Crestview.

Approximately 1.5 million tissue transplants are performed each year. One tissue donor can help save and restore 150 lives. North Okaloosa Medical Center had a total of 13 donors in 2017, which equates to 1,950 lives impacted.

More than 120,000 people are currently awaiting a transplant, and sadly, an average of 18 patients die every day because the organ they needed was not donated in time.

Ninety-five percent of Americans are in favor being a donor but only 54 percent are registered.There are now approximately 112 million registered donors in the United States. Still, the number of people in need of transplants continues to outpace the supply of donated organs.

The solution to this problem is to continue educating the public about the lifesaving effects of donation and transplantation and encourage them to sign up through their state donor registery.

Visit www.donatelifeflorida.org to register to be a donor or for more information.

North Okaloosa Medical Center is a 110-bed facility with more than 600 employees and 150 physicians on staff. Visit http://www.northokaloosa.com for details.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: North Okaloosa Medical center observes National Donate Life Month