NATIONAL DONOR DAY 1999 DRIVES WERE HELD AT PARTICIPATING SATURN FACILITIES NATIONWIDE

National Donor Day is a "Celebration of Life".  Last Year's Inaugural Event Raised Nearly 8,000 Units of Blood, Added 1,000 Potential Donors to the National Marrow Donor Program Registry and Distributed Tens of Thousands of Organ & Tissue Donor Cards.

The event was a "celebration of life" and families with a direct connection to donation and transplantation were invited to attend. The primary goal of National Donor Day was to let all Americans know that transplantation has become mainstream medical practice that leads to normal and productive lives. An equally important goal was to inform the public of the five ways each of us can help give the "gift of life" so that others may live -- the "Five Points of Life" -- which are whole blood, platelets, umbilical cord blood, bone marrow, and organ and tissue donation.

Organ donor cards were distributed at all participating Saturn sites, blood was donated or pledged at all sites, and bone marrow typing also was available at many Saturn facilities. Participating donor organizations had informative materials, including information about cord blood donation, available at Saturn sites as well.

"Donation is a critical public health care issue and one immediate way millions of Americans can help save lives," states U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher. "The Department of Health and Human Services has again joined the National Donor Day partners in this most important awareness builder."

Saturn Chairman and President Cynthia Trudell stated, "Saturn and its UAW partners are noted for their community service efforts.  Most Saturn locations were visited by organ donor recipients and it helped us realize on a very personal level how important this cause was. Our web site has received hundreds of congratulatory messages of encouragement from donor recipients, persons awaiting donation and donor families. We have also learned of Saturn associates, and Saturn owners, who have first hand experience with life saving donation. It is our understanding that nationwide an average of over ten people die each day because a suitable donor is not found in time. We hope that by hosting National Donor Day, Saturn and our UAW partners working with donor organizations will make a difference."

NATIONAL DONOR DAY 1999 ORGANIZATIONS

American Association of Blood Banks
American Red Cross
America's Blood Centers
Coalition on Donation
National Kidney Foundation
National Marrow Donor Program
National Minority Organ & Tissue Transplant Education Program Rotary International District 6760
Saturn Corporation
The Bill & Beverly Young Fund of the Marrow Foundation Transplant Recipients International Organization, Inc. United Auto Workers
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

In addition to the above organizations, the Emergency Nurses Association was lending its support by sending Donor Day materials to ENA representatives at 3,000 hospitals nationwide. The "Five Points of Life" is a program of LifeSouth Community Blood Centers.

THE NEED

Approximately 10,000 life saving transfusions occur daily yet only about five percent of the eligible population of Americans give blood regularly. The winter months, including February, are often times of critical blood shortages and National Donor Day augments the blood supply during this period.

There are about 60,000 Americans, including thousands of children, awaiting organ transplants at any given moment and, sadly, approximately 10 die every day because a suitable donor is not found in time. Family consent is the major determining factor in donation and if Donor Day encourages millions of potential donors to make their wishes known to their families (in the words of the Coalition on Donation "Share your life. Share your decision."), the available donor pool would expand greatly. Transplantation leads to normal, productive lives. For example, a current university study has tracked the births of nearly 2,000 healthy babies by mothers who are transplant recipients.

Thousands of Americans, including children, need a bone marrow transplant each year yet are unable to find a suitable match. Marrow typing of a potential donor requires only a very small sample of blood. Patients who need bone marrow transplants are actually in need of new stem cells, which produce the body's blood cells. To date, bone marrow has been the most prominent source of stem cells. New research proves that umbilical cord blood is also an effective source of stem cells. Cord blood banks are developing around the country.

Demand for transplants among minority populations is disproportionately high, while traditional minority representation among donor pools is not meeting the need. As a result of these two divergent trends, there is a greatly heightened need for donor awareness within minority communities.