ORGAN DONATION PUBLIC SERVICE CAMPAIGN FOCUSES ON THE POSITIVES OF DONATING AMIDST A STATEWIDE SHORTAGE

LiveOnNY Takes The Heart Out Of Iconic Logo To Stress The Need For Donating Organs

NEW YORK, Oct. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The greater New York Metro region has one of the lowest organ donor registration rates in the country, leaving the decision up to family members for the large majority of donors. When entering a hospital, only approximately 20% are registered donors. With these stats in mind, New Yorkers are being asked to open their minds and hearts to organ donation in a powerful new ad campaign from LiveOnNY, the federally designated organ procurement organization (OPO) for the greater New York Metro region.

The print campaign will begin appearing this week and run for the next three months throughout New York City area transit services, including Metro-North Railroad, LIRR, and the subway system. This marks LiveOnNY's first new public service campaign in more than five years. The non-profit enlisted the independent New York advertising agency DeVito/Verdi to create the campaign.

The most arresting ad in the initial push borrows from the iconic "I Love NY" tourism campaign by running the famed logo, but with one noticeable omission: the colorful red heart symbol. The line of copy below simply states, "New York needs organ donors."

Another ad boldly implores would-be donors to "Go Out A Hero." A second one reads: "You'd never stop a loved one from receiving a lifesaving organ. Why would you stop a loved one from donating one?" Both aim to give New Yorkers a better understanding of the impact they and their loved ones can have by donating their organs.

Using the tagline, "Life. Pass it on," several ads call out the fact that one person can save up to eight lives by being an organ donor.

"This is not a campaign designed to get people to just check off 'Organ Donor' on their license, though that is important," said Ellis Verdi, president of DeVito/Verdi. "This goes beyond that in having people understand the need and impact of organ donation and be part of something so positive born out of a tragedy or a deep sadness."

The campaign draws from LiveOnNY's extensive community engagement, incorporating feedback learned from New Yorkers who have graciously said 'yes' to donation, increasing donation 50 percent over the last three years, while also reflecting the realities of the organ donation and transplant ecosystem and the disparities within that system. The campaign will also highlight the ongoing challenges of unconscious bias and racism in organ allocation and placement and waitlisting locally and nationally.

For instance, starting October 31, 2024, a national policy change will no longer require that the race of a donor be identified during the organ allocation process (the moment when OPOs offer the donors' gifts of life to transplant centers). This pivotal policy shift addresses a long-standing issue, as the system previously used a Kidney Donor Profile Index (KDPI) to suggest that organs from African-Americans were more damaged, perpetuating a flawed view by some in the transplant system across the United States.

LiveOnNY, guided by a three-year strategic plan launched in 2022, has taken decisive action to address NY being one of the lowest performers in the nation for organ donation and addressing health disparities in the communities LiveOnNY serves. A key focus has been tackling the lower donation rates in Black and Asian communities in New York. Through increased education and community outreach, donated gifts of life in LiveOnNY communities have doubled, resulting in more than half of those gifts of life saving the lives of waitlisted transplant patients from those same communities. The new campaign will serve as a powerful reminder of the ongoing disparities while inspiring the public to take action.

"Our new campaign, 'Life. Pass it on.' is about more than raising awareness of organ donation; it's about addressing the deeper, systemic issues that have long affected this lifesaving process," said LiveOnNY President and CEO Leonard Achan, RN, MA, ANP. "By shedding light on the realities of systemic racism and unconscious bias in both the donation and placement of gifted organs like kidneys and waitlisting of patients, we aim to create a more equitable system for everyone who wants to give and everyone who wants to receive. We want to empower communities, especially those historically underserved, with the knowledge that organ donation can save lives—and that everyone deserves an equal chance at receiving the gift of life."

Currently, there are more than 100,000 people on the national waitlist for an organ donation, with 8,000 of those patients New Yorkers who are waiting for a gift of life.

Achan added, "In the New York Metro region where donation in black communities has increased, this flawed policy and scoring has meant more organs offered to transplant centers across the nation may have been discarded from OPOs that serve communities of color. This is shameful and we want everyone to know so improvements can be made immediately and biases towards donors of color can end immediately." 

About LiveOnNY

LiveOnNY is a nonprofit, federally designated organ procurement organization (OPO) dedicated to saving lives, providing comfort, and strengthening legacies through organ, eye, and tissue donation. The OPO, which was established in 1978, serves a culturally and ethnically diverse population of 13 million residents in New York City, Long Island and the lower Hudson Valley. Working closely with donor hospital and transplant centers, LiveOnNY coordinates organ, eye, and tissue donation for transplant, educates the public and healthcare professionals about donation, and promotes the importance of signing up on the New York State Donate Life Registry. LiveOnNY is a member of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), which oversees the organ transplant waiting list in the U.S. For more information, please visit LiveOnNY.org.

About DeVito/Verdi

DeVito/Verdi, a privately held company, has been recognized as one of the most exceptional creative agencies in the industry. It has been voted "Best Agency" six times by the advertising industry group, the 4As, and has created some of the most memorable ad campaigns of the past 35 years. Its lengthy list of industry awards includes the top prizes at the Clios, Radio Mercury, Cannes, Andy, Addy and One Show award ceremonies. 

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SOURCE LiveOnNY