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Donate Life Flag Raising Ceremony

Posted on: April 7, 2015 - 12:13pm

Flag to fly at Town Hall for National Donate Life Month in April

(April 7, 2015) East Hartford, CT – The Town of East Hartford is one of nearly 50 municipalities, hospitals and organizations in Connecticut promoting organ and tissue donation awareness by flying or displaying flags that read “Donation Saves Lives” during April.

On Thursday, April 9 at 11:30 a.m., the Donate Life flag will be raised in front of Town Hall during a special ceremony to celebrate National Donate Life Month.  The flag-flying campaign is part of a national effort to bolster organ and tissue donor registries, and to increase awareness about the need for more people to register. Mayor Marcia Leclerc will host the event in honor of people in the community who have given and received the gift of life.  Town resident, Jane Andrews, will share her story and gratitude as a double organ recipient and representatives from LifeChoice Donor Services will be on hand as well.

“Organ and tissue donation can help save the lives of hundreds of thousands of men, women and children not only in our community, but across the nation,” Mayor Leclerc said. “The Town of East Hartford wants to help drive that point home with this symbolic flag.” More than 1,100 Connecticut residents are waiting to receive life-saving hearts, livers, lungs, kidneys and other organs.  In fact, 18 people die every day in the U.S. waiting for an organ transplant, and the national waiting list currently is more than 117,000 people.

Mayor Leclerc hopes that the flags will motivate the community to consider the benefits of donation and then join the Connecticut Donor Registry.  Joining the Donor Registry gives hope to those in need of organ and tissue transplants, while leaving a legacy of generosity for the donor and his or her family. 

In order to register as an organ and tissue donor in Connecticut, residents can visit the Department of Motor Vehicles or any AAA location, sign up online at Donate Life New England (www.donatelifene.org) or at the ceremony on April 9.

This event is open to the public, and all are welcome and encouraged to attend!