Austin, TX – September 24, 2008 – When Texas Organ Sharing Alliance (TOSA) was assessing how to promote the importance of organ donation in their new Public Service Announcements they knew they wanted to include a local community leader. “We wanted a leader who is well-known in the community and who would also help us reach the diverse populations we serve in Austin and in the surrounding areas,” said Patrick Giordano, Chief Executive Officer at TOSA.

TOSA turned to Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo, who was committed to help make the community more aware of the need for life-saving donations. “When the Austin Police Department was made aware of the organ donation shortage it was important for us to step in and create awareness about the issue,” said Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo. “Anytime we have the opportunity to give back to the community as public servants we do so without hesitation. I was honored to be a part of this Public Service Announcement educating our community on how they can save lives.”

The PSAs were filmed last month at the local Pediatric Dialysis Clinic next to Dell Children’s Medical Center. Texas Organ Sharing Alliance worked with children, their parents and staff at the clinic to make sure the young dialysis patients were comfortable having a film crew at the center. XHorn Productions, a local production company, donated their time to the project which included filming and editing English and Spanish versions of the PSAs.

The spots include Chief Acevedo sitting with a young girl who is awaiting a kidney transplant. She, along with the other children in the video undergo dialysis for four hours a day, three times a week. They are just some of the 76 thousand people across the country who need kidney transplants.

There are nearly 100 thousand people awaiting a life-saving transplant in the United States, eight thousand are Texans. You can help save lives by being an organ donor. Texans can make their wishes known on the new state donor registry at www.donatelifetexas.org and tell your family about your decision.

• Read the article on KVUE.com, November 19, 2008
• View the video story on KVUE News - Video On Demand, November 19, 2008

The Texas Organ Sharing Alliance is one of 58 federally designated Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) in the United States. Founded in 1975 as a not-for-profit corporation, TOSA covers 56 counties in Central and South Texas. TOSA is committed to providing organ donation and recovery services to families wishing to donate, and to those waiting for a life-saving organ transplant.

The TOSA 2007 Report to the Community is now available.
Click here to download.