Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison will host a flag-raising ceremony next week to raise awareness about organ donations.
The initiative takes place each April as part of National Donate Life Month and is observed across Allegheny Health Network sites. It started Wednesday at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh’s North Side and West Penn Hospital in Bloomfield. Allegheny Valley’s ceremony is set for Tuesday, April 7.
“Every April, we are reminded of the extraordinary impact of organ donation, honoring the selfless donors who give the gift of life and celebrating the recipients whose lives are transformed,” Dr. Jennifer Carpenter, AHN surgical director of the living donor kidney transplant program, said in a release.
More than 100,000 people across the country are waiting for a life-saving transplant, according to the Center for Organ Recovery & Education in O’Hara.
One person can save the lives of as many as eight people through organ donation and heal the lives of as many as 75 people through tissue donation, according to data from the group’s website.
AHN completed its first organ transplant in 1987.
Last year, the network saved or improved lives through organ, tissue and cornea donations because of nearly 600 donors across its hospitals.
The flag-raising events are open to the public. The ceremony in Harrison begins at 11 a.m. at the front entrance.
Events will continue Thursday at Wexford, and then into the next two week at Grove City; Hempfield; Saint Vincent, Erie; Jefferson; Canonsburg; and Forbes hospitals.
Speakers will share stories about organ donations with the aim of educating the broader community.
Highmark Health’s Fifth Avenue Place, in downtown Pittsburgh, will illuminate its spire in green and blue to highlight the cause.