The Pine Bluff Chapter of The Links Inc. promoted the importance of organ donation during National Donor Sabbath Weekend.
The organization hosted Linkages to Life Donor Sunday in seven churches across Jefferson County on Nov. 12, according to a news release.
National Donor Sabbath Weekend is an observance declared by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration. During the event, faith leaders, donor families, transplant recipients, and donation and transplantation professionals participate in programs to increase awareness of the need for the life-saving and enhancing gifts of organ transplantation and encourage people to sign up in their state registry, according to the release.
Since 2002, Linkages to Life Donor Sunday has raised awareness and emphasized the critical need for organ, tissue, and bone marrow donations in the African American community through church-based events.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The Pine Bluff Chapter of The Links Inc. dispelled myths to more than 250 African Americans about organ and tissue donation during Linkages to Life Donor Sunday.
When people think organ donation, most think of core organs like the heart, but many other parts of the body can be donated, according to Arkansas Regional Organ Recovery Agency. The list on arora.org includes: tissues, bone, heart valves, vein and arteries, skin, and corneas.
The Links Inc. is an international, not-for-profit corporation, established in 1946. The membership consists of more than 17,000 professional women of African descent in 299 chapters located in 41 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, and the United Kingdom.
Carla M. Martin is the president of the Pine Bluff Chapter of The Links and Valandra L. German is the Health and Human Services facet chair. For more information, visit http://www.linksinc.org or the chapter’s Facebook page.
