Marshall Health Network receives Donate Life Awards for organ donation efforts

Cabell Huntington Hospital (CHH), St. Mary’s Medical Center (SMMC) and Rivers Health (RH), members of Marshall Health Network (MHN), have been recognized by Donate Life West Virginia for their commitment to educate employees and the community about the crucial need for organ, eye and tissue donation. CHH and SMMC received the Platinum Award and RH received the Gold Award.

Representatives from Cabell Huntington Hospital, St. Mary's Medical Center and Rivers Health attended the 2024 Donate Life West Virginia Hospital Challenge Awards at Stonewall Resort.

Marshall Health Network employees supported Donate Life West Virginia through the West Virginia Hospital Challenge by encouraging individuals to register as donors and provide opportunities to do so. Awareness and designation activities were captured on a scorecard where points were tracked and recorded. Awareness activities included donor registry enrollment events, education initiatives, flag raising ceremonies and participation in National Blue and Green Day, as well as honoring a living donor employee on National Living Donor Day.

“With someone added to the transplant waiting list every 10 minutes, raising awareness of the importance of organ donation is more crucial than ever,” said Hoyt Burdick, MD, chief medical officer, MHN. “We are proud to partner with Donate Life West Virginia as we work to not only save the lives of those on the transplant list, but also to honor those who gave the gift of life.”

Donate Life West Virginia is comprised of four federally designated not-for-profit organ procurement organizations (OPOs) that are dedicated to promoting and coordinating the donation of organs and tissue for transplantation: The Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE), Lifeline of Ohio, Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates (KODA) and LifeNet Health. Donate Life West Virginia partnered with CORE and the West Virginia Hospital Association to honor those hospitals and health systems throughout the state who have gone above and beyond to build a culture of donation within their facilities.

“CORE’s mission, to save and heal lives through donation, is about giving a second chance at life to those in need of a transplant and helping donor families heal from the tragic loss of their loved ones,” said Susan A. Stuart, CORE president and chief executive officer. “However, to carry out this mission, we depend on the support of an entire community, and most notably, our hospital partners. Donation and transplantation cannot happen without them. We thank Marshall Health Network for being true champions of organ, tissue and cornea donation.”

Right now, close to 500 West Virginians are still awaiting a life-saving organ transplant. In the 11 years of the Hospital Challenge, partners nationwide have added more than 575,000 donor registrations.

To learn more about donation, or to register as a donor, visit www.donatelifewv.org.