Dearborn Walk-A-Thon to Raise Awareness for Need for Organ Donation

Dearborn, Mich. – Several hundred community members are expected to take part in the third annual “Save a Life Walk-A-Thon,” sponsored by the International Association for Organ Donation (IAOD) in Dearborn on Saturday, September 20, 2003.

The walk will begin at noon that day, at Dearborn’s Ford Community and Performing Arts Center on Michigan Avenue and follow a 3-mile loop through parks and neighborhoods in Dearborn. Registration, which begins at 11:30 a.m. and costs $25, will include a t-shirt and refreshments. Proceeds will benefit the IAOD program.

The IAOD was founded in the late 1990’s to increase public awareness about the need for organ and tissue donation among different social, cultural and religious groups. Since its founding, the IAOD has registered more organ and tissue donors than any other organization in the state except for the Michigan Secretary of State’s office, which encourages organ donations through the driver licensing process.

“Our goal is to make certain every person who needs an organ or tissue transplant will receive the chance he or she deserves,” said Dearborn Mayor Michael Guido, an IAOD board member. “Through outreach, education and awareness-building, we want to grow the Michigan Donor Registration to the point that no patient will ever die simply for want of an organ or tissue transplant.”

The City of Dearborn is one of the major sponsors of the Walk-A-Thon. Other sponsors include the Ford Motor Company, General Motors, DaimlerChrysler, DTE Energy, Comerica Bank, Garden Foods, Al Long Ford, and numerous hospitals and health care systems in the community, including the Detroit Medical Center and Oakwood Health Care Systems.

In addition, the three higher educational institutions in Dearborn – Davenport University, Henry Ford Community College and the University of Michigan - Dearborn – have been sponsors since the founding of the IAOD.

For more information about the Walk-A-Thon or other IAOD programs, contact the organization at (313) 745-2379, or at www.iaod.org.


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