Mega Doctor News
Edinburg, TX—Doctors Hospital at Renaissance Health System and the Renaissance Transplant Institute have joined forces with the Texas Organ Sharing Alliance and Donate Life Texas to celebrate National Donate Life Month this April. The organizations will host a press conference on Thursday, April 13th at 10:00 AM, during which guests will hear from the health system’s first kidney transplant donor and recipient, and the medical team that provided their care.
Under the direction of Dr. Jose Almeda, Dr. Philip Thomas, and Dr. Mourad Alsabbagh, the Renaissance Transplant Institute is the only facility in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) that currently offers kidney transplant services. Without an active transplant program in our community, most individuals have had to travel outside of South Texas to receive all of their organ transplant medical care. Now, patients no longer have to leave the RGV, but can receive all of their pre-surgery assessment, surgical services, and follow up visits close to home.
In Central and South Texas, organ transplants reached an all-time high in 2016, with organs from 139 individuals providing 501 life-saving transplants. But, there is still a pressing need for more donors – there are over 3,600 children and adults waiting for a transplant in Central and South Texas alone. In an effort to increase the number of locally registered organ donors, DHR is proud to participate in National Donate Life Month to create awareness about the amazing gift of life that can be given through organ donation!
Providing life-saving organ transplants to men, women and children wouldn’t be possible without the selfless decision of donors and donor families who say “yes” to donation. In 2016, 23 organ donors in Rio Grande Valley gave the gift of life to others. The option to donate your organs or the organs of a loved one is often given at a grief-stricken moment yet can be life-changing for numerous other people. One organ donor can save and enhance the lives of up to 8 people.
There is also the need for living donors. Nearly 45% of all organ donations are living donations. Because of the body’s ability to regenerate certain organs, individuals are able to donate an organ or a portion of one and continue to live a full and healthy life. The goal of National Donate Life Month is increase awareness about the lives that can be saved through organ, eye and tissue donation. Every April, Donate Life America, Donate Life Texas and its partners focus attention on how every individual has the potential to make LIFE possible by registering their decision to be an organ, eye and tissue donor.
South Texas is home to a large Hispanic population, which makes the need for organ donation even greater. Minorities such as Hispanics, Native Americans, African-Americans, and Pacific Islanders are all at a greater risk for developing chronic conditions that affect the liver, heart, and kidneys. There is also a greater diversity of blood types within these populations, which makes the need for organ donation even more critical.
National Donate Life Efforts
To promote awareness about the many benefits of organ donation, and to demonstrate how simple it is to sign up for the registry, Doctors Hospital at Renaissance will have a “Donation Station” in the hospital’s Main Lobby on Thursday April 13th and Friday, April 21st from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM. Donors will be able to ask questions about the donation process and which organs they can and would be willing to donate to recipients.
On Thursday, April 13th at 10:00 AM the Renaissance Transplant Institute, Texas Organ Sharing Alliance, Donate Life Texas, Gencure, and the San Antonio Eye Bank will host a press conference in honor of National Donate Life Month and to celebrate the first kidney transplant surgery at Doctors Hospital at Renaissance Health System.
On April 21, 2017, Doctors Hospital at Renaissance will take part in National Donate Life Wear Blue & Green Day. We encourage our community to join us in wearing blue and green as we promote the success of organ, eye and tissue transplantation and the extreme need for registered donors.
National Donate Life Mont Press Conference
Thursday, April 13, 2017 at 10:00 AM
Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance
118 Paseo Del Prado, Edinburg, TX 78539
“National Donate Life Month” Donation Station
Thursday, April 13, 2017 and Friday, April 21, 2017
10:00 AM- 2:00 PM
Doctors Hospital at Renaissance Main Lobby
5501 S. McColl Rd., Edinburg, TX 78539
National Wear Blue and Green Day
Friday, April 21, 2017
Be sure to tag @DHRhealth!
Texans are encouraged to sign up as organ and tissue donors at DonateLifeTexas.org, or at Texas Department of Public Safety or the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. For information on organ donation and community initiatives, contact TOSA at 866-685-0277 or visit txorgansharing.org. For information about the Renaissance Transplant Institute and the services they offer, please call (956) 362-LIFE (5433).
