The Donor Sabbath is part of a national donation initiative launched by the United States Department of Health and Human Services in 1997.  Observed on Friday through Sunday two weekends before Thanksgiving, the three-day designation seeks to include the days of worship of major religions practiced in the United States.

Donation and transplant professionals join faith communities to focus on the life-saving and enhancing gifts passed to others through organ, eye and tissue donation. Faith leaders participate in services and programs to increase awareness of donation and transplantation. Those who donate heal and strengthen not just their recipients, but families, friends, and the larger community.

Many people turn to their faith leaders for help when dealing with life and death issues. Nearly every religion in the United States officially supports organ and tissue donation or supports the individual choices of its members. Donation is viewed by most religions as an act of compassion and generosity, and National Donor Sabbath is celebrated in many houses of worship, often with a transplant recipient sharing a personal story of receiving “a second chance at life.”
 

Awareness of donation increases each year, but so does the need for donors. More than 120,000 people were on the organ transplant waiting list as of April 2013 despite the fact that nearly 8,000 deceased donors and over 7,000 living donors gave the 'gift of life' - an organ transplant - to more than 28,500 people in 2012.  Each year, over one million Americans receive a corneal or other tissue transplant.

 

Suggested Bulletin Inserts

Following are several inserts that can be added to your faith community bulletin.

• (Your religious organization) supports and encourages organ and tissue donation as the ultimate gift of one person to another. Take a moment to discuss organ and tissue donation with your family and join the Donate Life New England Registry. For more information, contact Donor Life Connecticut at 203-387-1549 or visit donatelifect.org.

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• To think of others in our hours of grief and sorrow is truly compassionate and selfless. Please consider the gift of life -- organ and tissue donation. Our church supports this gift in the spirit of love and generosity. Remember to discuss your decision about organ donation with your family and join the Donate Life New England Registry. For more information, contact Donor Life Connecticut at 203-387-1549 or visit donatelifect.org.

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• We all recognize the life-giving benefits of organ and tissue donation and transplantation. Take a moment to discuss organ and tissue donation with your family and join the Donate Life New England Registry. For more information, contact Donor Life Connecticut at 203-387-1549 or visit donatelifect.org.

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• Over 120,000 people nationwide currently wait for a life-saving organ transplant and hundreds of thousands are in need of life -enhancing tissue transplants. For many, the chance to live a full life won't come unless all of us consider organ and tissue donation. Discuss organ donation after worship with your family and friends. Help others find a chance to live a full life by joining the Donate Life Organ Donor Registry. For more information, contact Donor Life Connecticut at 203-387-1549 or visit donatelifect.org.

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• After worship, discuss organ donation with family and friends. Let them know that you understand the need for organs and tissues among those who rely on transplantation to live. For us, the only cost is giving, for the recipient, the gift is life. For more information, contact Donor Life Connecticut at 203-387-1549 or visit donatelifect.org.

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• Food for Thought: If you or a family member of friend needed an organ or tissue transplant, would you agree to the surgery? If you would agree to receive an organ, would you also agree to give? THINK ABOUT IT, TALK ABOUT IT, AND JOIN THE DONATE LIFE ORGAN DONOR REGISTRY. For more information contact Donor Life Connecticut at 203-387-1549 or  visit donatelifect.org.