Make your wish to become organ donor known to family

As you sit down to write your holiday cards, consider sending the message of hope this year. The holidays are a time to believe in hope and to wish for healing. For 82,000 Americans, hope is lost as each day passes. Their families will have only one wish this holiday season—for organ donors to come forward and to help heal.

This Thanksgiving, 17 people will die. This New Year’s Day, 17 more will die. Another 600 Americans will die on the days in between.

Every 13 minutes a new name is added to the list of those awaiting organ transplants. By signing a donor card, you can offer hope by helping to eliminate this list forever. As part of the annual Holiday Resolution Campaign, the National Kidney Foundation is asking Americans to consider giving the gift of life by becoming an organ donor.

"The holidays are the perfect time to discuss your wishes to become an organ donor with family members. Start a new family tradition by encouraging family members to share in your pledge to be a donor and enclose organ donor cards with your holiday greeting cards this season," said Mohammad Akmal, M.D., chairman of the Patient Services and Community Education Committee.

The National Kidney Foundation is dedicated to increasing the number of available donors for all organs, enhancing the lives of transplant recipients and bringing hope to donor families.

For more information on organ donation or to receive a free donor card, please call the National Kidney Foundation of Southern California at (800) 747-5527 or visit www.kidneysocal.org.