Donate Life Mississippi Recognizes DPS “Donate Life Champions”

December 1, 2021


December 1, 2021

JACKSON—Donate Life Mississippi annually recognizes Mississippi Department of Public Safety (DPS) examiners and stations for their outstanding partnership in saving and healing lives by registering Mississippians as organ, eye, and tissue donors. Donate Life Mississippi recently awarded 100 “Donate Life Champions”— those DPS examiners who achieved registration rates of 30% or higher during a designated time frame as well as the recipients of the “Red Heart Award”— the DPS stations with the highest overall performance in their specific region. This year’s recipients of the Red Heart Award are Oxford (Northern Region), Starkville (Central Region) and Kiln (Southern Region).

“The Driver Service Bureau is proud to partner with Donate Life Mississippi in their efforts of saving and enhancing lives through organ, eye, and tissue donation,” says Kevin Raymond, Director of the Driver Service Bureau. “As we continue our partnership, we hope to increase the numbers of Mississippians saying yes to donation when visiting our driver license offices or our website.”

The Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency (MORA) recognizes the critical role of the DPS in registering donors. “DPS is credited with registering more than 98% of Mississippi’s Donor Registry,” says Kevin Stump, MORA President and CEO. ­­­­­“We applaud the efforts of the DPS staff for their dedication to increasing the registry. Their efforts create hope for those waiting on a life-saving transplant.”

Mid-South Transplant Foundation (MSTF) congratulates those recognized adding, “We celebrate their success and thank the staff of DPS,” says Kim Van Frank, MSTF Executive Director. “Their dedication and hard work saves lives, restores sight, heals burns and enhances thousands of Mississippians.”

Donate Life Mississippi is a partnership among the Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency (MORA), Mid-South Transplant Foundation (MSTF), Mississippi Lions Eye Bank (MLEB), Mississippi Hospital Association, and Mississippi Department of Public Safety.

A new patient is added to the national transplant waiting list every 10 minutes and an average of 20 people die each day awaiting a life-saving transplant that never comes. In Mississippi, there are more than 1,300 people waiting on a transplant. One organ donor can save eight lives and one tissue donor can save or heal the lives of 75 recipients or more.

To register your decision to be an organ, eye, and tissue donor visit registerme.org.