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Stillwater Becomes First Donate Life City in the Nation
STILLWATER, MN – On July 20, 2021, the Stillwater City Council adopted a resolution to designate the City of Stillwater as a Donate Life℠ City. Stillwater, Minnesota is the first city in the nation to affirm their community-wide commitment to organ, eye and tissue donation by being designated as a Donate Life City.
The Donate Life City program will be implemented in partnership with LifeSource, the organ procurement organization (OPO) for Minnesota and Donate Life America, to create awareness, engage the community and share important messages of donation and transplantation. Through this designation, Stillwater affirms the life-saving benefit of donation, honors those who have generously helped others through donation, and ultimately, commits to increasing chances to save more lives through transplantation. As the first in the nation to adopt this designation, Stillwater will serve as a national leader and inspire other communities across Minnesota and throughout the country to follow suit.
“Stillwater is proud of our generous and supportive community and the work we’ve already done to promote organ donation,” said Council Member Larry Odebrecht. “This designation is simply another way we’re living out those values.”
The Need
Saving lives through organ donation is only possible through the generosity of individuals who choose to donate. Currently, there are more than 100,000 people on the waiting list for an organ transplant. Over 2,500 of those individuals are Minnesotans waiting for a transplant, the gift of life.
Washington County has strong support for donation; and in 2021, 61% of those who received a driver’s license or ID card in the county said yes to donation. This compares favorably to neighboring counties; and while support is strong, there is room to increase that support.
| COUNTY | DONOR REGISTRATION RATE |
| Minnesota | 58% |
| Washington County | 61% |
| Ramsey County | 48% |
| Dakota County | 57% |
| Hennepin County | 57% |
| Anoka | 55% |
| Chisago | 63% |
A History of Advocacy
The Stillwater community has a long-standing history of demonstrating commitment to organ, eye and tissue donation. Recent engagements include:
- In 2015, Washington County partnered with LifeSource to implement electronic displays in the driver’s license offices which would include information about donation and transplantation. The displays in the Stillwater driver’s license offices highlight local residents who were impacted by donation and provide information about registration.
- The Adam McCloud Foundation is named in honor of Stillwater resident and generous organ donor. The Foundation holds an annual event at Lift Bridge Brewery, featuring The Dweebs, to raise funds to support donation and to honor Adam.
- The Stillwater City Council proclaimed April 2021 as Organ Donor Awareness Month.
“As a city, Stillwater has demonstrated tremendous advocacy for organ donation in recent years,” said Susan Mau Larson, LifeSource Chief Strategy Officer and Stillwater resident. “They are the perfect partner to trailblaze this designation.”
About LifeSource
LifeSource is the non-profit organization dedicated to saving lives through organ, eye and tissue donation in the Upper Midwest, serving more than seven million people in communities across Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. LifeSource promotes donation in our communities through the Donate Life brand. We are relentlessly pursuing a day when no one dies waiting for a life-saving transplant. Learn more at Life-Source.org.
About Donate Life
Donate Life America (DLA) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization leading its national partners and Donate Life State Teams to increase the number of donated organs, eyes, and tissue available to save and heal lives. DLA owns, manages and promotes Donate Life℠, the national brand for the cause of donation; motivates the public to register as organ, eye, and tissue donors; provides education about living donation; manages the National Donate Life Registry at RegisterMe.org; and develops and executes effective multi-media campaigns to promote donation.
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