By Joseph S. Roth
Spring has now brought us a renewed spirit and hope as we look forward to the months ahead when we will begin to see each other again in person for community events and activities. Throughout April, we are celebrating National Donate Life Month.
This is our time to encourage family members, friends and neighbors to register as organ and tissue donors and to honor those who have given the gift of life.
Here in New Jersey, thousands of NJ Sharing Network’s volunteers and community and hospital partners are sharing our message using social media platforms and community awareness events and activities.
This year’s Donate Life Month theme is “hope” – the hope we are giving to the nearly
4,000 New Jerseyans currently waiting for a life-saving transplant. Just one organ and tissue donor can save eight lives and enhance the lives of more than 75 people.
It is also the “hope” we are feeling as we start to safely get back into some of our community awareness activities, including flag-raising ceremonies to honor our donors and township proclamations.
Be sure to stay connected with us on social media and on our website (www.NJSharingNetwork.org) for details on in-person and virtual events throughout the year ahead.
While this past year has been a difficult time for all of us, I have been inspired by the one
constant that has always remained – the tireless commitment of those who power our life-
saving mission at NJ Sharing Network.
We can all take great pride in this spirit of caring for others that provides hope for a brighter future. And it is this sense of hope that drives us to save more lives in New Jersey through organ and tissue donation and transplantation.
Our team members, healthcare partners and dedicated volunteers have risen to the occasion to overcome unprecedented challenges. Their heroic efforts, combined with the extraordinary generosity of donors and their families, have lifted our life-saving mission to new heights during a time of great uncertainty.
Last year was a record-breaking year for organ donation in New Jersey and we are on pace to save and enhance more lives than ever before in 2021.
In the first quarter of this year, 161 lives have been saved thanks to successful organ transplants and hundreds of more people have had their health restored thanks to tissue donation.
It is also now easier than ever for New Jerseyans to give hope to others by registering as an organ and tissue donor in any one of the following options:
• Online at www.NJSharingNetwork.org;
• Through the iPhone Health App;
• In-person at your local motor vehicle agency.
Once again, I thank you for continued support of our life-saving mission.
Joseph S. Roth is the president and CEO of the NJ Sharing Network, New Providence.
