March 27, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Organ and tissue transplant recipients will join with those who made their transplants possible to celebrate life at the annual UAB/Alabama Organ Center Celebration of Life Picnic, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Sat., April 18, at the UAB Mini-Park on the corner of University Boulevard and 14th St. South.

Alabama Organ Center (AOC) and University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Transplant Program physicians, nurses, coordinators and other staff will host the several hundred people expected to attend the event. The picnic will include a short program, a "cheer for life" to recognize the recipients of transplants and their caregivers, photo sessions and a ceremony honoring those who have made possible the precious gift of life. A quilt pinning ceremony for the Alabama Donor Family Quilt also will take place during the donor recognition ceremony.

April is National Donate Life Month. It seeks to spotlight the need for more families to be aware of the critical, ongoing need for organ donation. More than 5,000 organ transplant recipients identify UAB as their transplant center.

"More than 3,000 people in Alabama are waiting for a lifesaving organ. We urge families to talk about organ donation. It is an opportunity to give people a second chance at life," said Dem Lalison, AOC director. "One donor can give a heart, liver, lungs, kidneys and other organs, and also can help dozens through tissue donation."

For more information, contact the AOC at 205-731-9200.