SUNY Downstate and the New York Organ Donor Network Team Up to Raise Organ Donor Awareness
Nov 24, 2006
On National Organ Donor Sabbath, a day set aside to raise awareness of the need for
organ and tissue donation—especially among minority donors—SUNY Downstate Health Sciences
University and the New York Organ Donor Network joined forces to reached out to parishioners
in churches throughout Brooklyn.
Reverend Charles Oduro, the Catholic chaplain at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University,
helped the effort by distributing green ribbons and organ donor information materials
at six local churches: St. Vincent Ferrer, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Jerome, St.
Catherine of Genoa, Holy Cross, and Our Lady of Refuge. He also preached about the
need for greater organ donation following two Masses he celebrated at St. Vincent
Ferrer.
“I am grateful that I was able to participate in this all important cause to save
lives,” Reverend Oduro said. “Feedback from the parishes indicates that the response
was awesome.”
According to New York Organ Donor Network, more than 92,000 men, women, and children
in the United States are desperately in need of new kidneys, livers, hearts, lungs,
and other vital organs. More than 8,000 of them are New Yorkers, a majority of whom
lives in the downstate metropolitan area.
SUNY Downstate is the only medical facility with a transplant center in Brooklyn.
Dale A. Distant, M.D., is chief of the Division of Transplantation in the Department
of Surgery at Downstate. For more information about SUNY Downstate’s transplant program,
visit https://www.downstate.edu/transplant/about.html. To enroll in the New York State Organ and Tissue Donor Registry, visit donatelifeny.org.
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About SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn is one of four academic health centers (AMCs) in The State University of New York (SUNY) 64-campus system and the only SUNY AMC in New York City dedicated to health education, research, and patient care for the borough’s 2.7 million residents. Its flagship hospital, University Hospital at Downstate (UHD), is a teaching hospital and benefits from the expertise of Downstate’s exceptional medical school and world-class academic center research facilities. With a staff of over 800 physicians representing 53 specialties and subspecialties, Downstate offers comprehensive healthcare services to the community.
UHD provides high-risk neonatal and infant services, pediatric nephrology, and dialysis for kidney diseases and is the only kidney transplantation program in Brooklyn. Beyond its clinical expertise, Downstate houses a range of esteemed educational institutions, including its College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, School of Graduate Studies, and School of Public Health. Downstate fosters innovation through its multifaceted biotechnology initiative, the Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT, which support early-stage and more mature biotech companies.