St. John’s Riverside Hospital held a flag raising ceremony on April 16 in support of Donate Life Month. The flag raising featured Yonkers City Mayor Spano and stories from Donor Mom Carmen Hanchard and Firaluz Peralta who created a living donor chain for her husband, Alberto’s new kidney. All are pictured above. Photo by LiveOnNY
Have you ever driven by or seen a Donate Life flag flying at a local hospital? When a donation case occurs, a Donate Flag is often flown for 24 hours to honor the gift of the life the individual gave through organ, eye or tissue donation.
The Donate Life flag has become a national symbol of unity, remembrance and hope, while honoring those touched by donation and transplantation. Giving the gift of life is one of the most selfless legacies a person can leave behind. The concept of a flag raising is to make a unified statement about the importance of donation and represent the great need for donors and to encourage others to register as a donor.
LiveOnNY is a nonprofit, federally designated organ procurement organization (OPO) dedicated to saving lives, providing comfort, and strengthening legacies through organ, eye, and tissue donation. The OPO, which was established in 1978, serves a culturally and ethnically diverse population of 13 million residents in New York City, Long Island and the lower Hudson Valley. Working closely with transplant centers and hospitals, LiveOnNY coordinates organ, eye, and tissue donation for transplant, educates the public and healthcare professionals about donation and transplantation, and promotes the importance of signing up on the New York State Donate Life Registry. LiveOnNY works closely with 11 transplant centers, nearly 100 hospitals, and several tissue and eye banks. LiveOnNY is accredited by the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO) and a member of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), which oversees the organ transplant waiting list in the U.S. For more information, please visit LiveOnNY.org.
