Organ, Tissue Donation is Focus of Red Wings Donation Education Day

WHAT:           Rochester Red Wings host Step to the Plate – Register to DonateWHEN:           Game time 1:35 p.m. Sunday, June 21WHERE:        Frontier Field, 1 Morrie Silver Way, Rochester

As the number of people awaiting lifesaving organ transplants in the United States continues to climb – currently more than 100,000 people are on waiting lists, 9,300 in New York state alone – it is more important than ever for people who support donation to become registered donors. To help address this need, the Rochester Red Wings are hosting Step to the Plate – Register to Donate, a special event to encourage more people in New York to say yes to organ and tissue donation.

This national program created by Astellas Pharma US Inc., in partnership with Donate Life America, aims to educate about organ donation and encourage more individuals to register as organ and tissue donors. Attending Sunday will be representatives from the local Finger Lakes Donor Recovery Network and Rochester Eye and Tissue Bank, as well as the University of Rochester Medical Center’s organ transplant programs.

Event activities will include a pre-game ceremony featuring members of the region’s donation and transplant communities, and a special “first pitch” by local liver transplant recipient Matt Polisseni of Caledonia, N.Y., a 19-year-old Rochester Institute of Technology sophomore who underwent transplant surgery at the University of Rochester Medical Center in February 2008. Fans also will have the opportunity during the game to join the New York State Organ and Tissue Donor Registry.

The first 500 entrants to the ballpark will receive a baseball featuring the Donate Life and Astellas logos as a reminder that every person has the power to save lives through organ donation.