UPMC Harrisburg to Host Flag Raising Event to Encourage Community and Kick Off Donate Life Month

What: UPMC will recognize and honor those who made a difference in the lives of others by being organ donors with a special flag raising ceremony held at UPMC Harrisburg Hospital. National Donate Life Month honors and celebrates our organ donors, transplant recipients, those awaiting the gift of life, our patients’ families, and our transplant clinical care teams. This year, the theme for National Donate Life Month is, "let life sing"!

When: Friday, April 4, 11 a.m.

Where: UPMC Harrisburg, 111 S. Front St., Harrisburg – The event will take place at the flagpole outside the main entrance.

Who: Elizabeth Ritter, president of UPMC Harrisburg, West Shore, Community Osteopathic, and Carlisle; Manish Gupta, M.D., surgical director, Kidney Transplant Program for UPMC in Central Pa.; Ken Rapp, organ recipient; and Cheryl Eshenour, who will share her son, Jonathan’s donation journey and how he changed so many lives with his donation.    

Why: One person is added to the national organ transplant waiting list every 8 minutes. 16 people die each day while waiting for a transplant. In the United States, more than 118,000 people, more than 8,000 of whom live in Pennsylvania, are waiting for a lifesaving organ. Yet only about half of those currently eligible have added the donor designation to their driver’s license, learner’s permit, or state identification card. It’s a simple process, and we hope events like this create awareness of why it’s so important.

If you are interested in attending and scheduling an interview, contact Malini Mattler. Thank you and hope to see you there.