THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 12, 1994 TAG: 9407120320
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM HOLDEN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
The folks who brought us ``A mind is a terrible thing to waste'' and ``This is your brain; this is your brain on drugs'' have turned their marketing talents to promoting organ and tissue donations.
The National Advertising Council today will unveil a campaign it hopes willmake more organs available by encouraging people to share their wishes first with their families and not just sign a card and forget about it.
``Needless to say we were thrilled'' to learn of the Ad Council's decision, said Doug Wilson, spokesman for LifeNet Transplant Services, a Virginia Beach-based tissue and organ harvesting company.
Wilson said the industry expects a dramatic increase in donations following the ad campaign.
``Signing a driver's license is a legal document, but it's not good enough,'' said Doug Wilson, a spokesman for LifeNet. ``He or she must tell family and friends. LifeNet must have their permission. LifeNet will not overrule a family member, because family consent overrules anything.''
The campaign's centerpiece is a dramatic 30-second television ad that opens with ominous music and the dreamlike image of someone turning toward the camera.
The announcer says: ``Someone out there needs help, and you've decided to save them.''
Cut to the person running through the woods.
``Each year, thousands of people die waiting for organ and tissue transplants,'' the announcer continues.
The saving man holds a rope in his hands.
``To be a donor, even if you've signed something, you must tell your family now so they can carry out your decision later. Otherwise, it's like throwing a 12-foot rope to someone who's 15 feet away.''
The man throws the rope and the drowning person reaches out.
A print version of the ad without the foundering victim reads: ``You decided to be an organ and tissue donor, but you didn't tell your family. Then you haven't really decided to be a donor.''
For both the print and electronic campaigns, the catch line is the same: ``Share your life, Share your decision.''
Last year, there were about 18,000 organ transplants performed in the United States, while about 35,000 waited for an organ, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, the Richmond-based registry for organ donation.
The difference meant that the average time it took to receive an organ was 414 days - and for many the wait was too long. In the same period, 2,887 people died of end-stage organ failure, UNOS said.
``We hope the public's consciousness will be raised and result in additional organ donations which will make UNOS' job of allocating them easier,'' said Wanda W. Bond, spokesman for UNOS.
While the campaign is nationwide in scope, the coalition hopes for particular success in the eastern and southern regions of the country, where donation rates are lowest, Bond said.
A recent UNOS survey found that only 29 percent of adults in the South and Northeast have designated that their organs should be donated, either by signing an organ donor card or by signing a driver's license. The Midwest rate was 49 percent while in the West it measured 43 percent.
The Ad Council has about 20 different issues it lends its talents to each year, said Susan M. Burrows, campaign manager for the organ donation campaign. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
TRANSPLANT FACTS
The national waiting list of patients in need of solid organs for
transplant has grown 115 percent in the past five years. As of May,
1994, 34,913 people were on the waiting list. Among them:
25,737 - kidney; 3,406 - liver; 212 - pancreas; 991 -
kidney-pancreas; 55 - intestine; 2,908 - heart; 206 - heart-lung;
1,398 - lung; total: 34,913
In 1993, there were more than 18,000 organ transplants performed
in the United States. Among them:
10,928 - kidney; 3,443 - liver; 772 - pancreas; 2,298 - heart; 60
- heart-lung; 664; total: 18,165
Because of the scarcity of organs, there are patients waiting to
receive their life-saving treatments. Below are the median times (in
days) from the time the patient is listed until he/she receives a
transplant.
520 days - kidney; 302 days - kidney-pancreas; 437 days -
pancreas; 104 days - liver; 245 days - heart; 598 days - heart-lung;
410 days - lung; 414 days average.
Every day an average of eight people nationwide will die while
waiting for a transplant. The total number of deaths in 1993 was
2,887. Among them:
1,275 - kidney; 59 - kidney pancreas; 3 - pancreas; 558 - liver;
3 intestine; 762 - heart; 51 - heart-lung; 252 - lung.
Source: LifeNet Transplant Services
by CNB