HARRISBURG — Every 10 minutes someone in Pennsylvania is told they need a life-saving transplant.

With more than 7,500 patients currently on the transplant waiting list, the need for more registered organ and tissue donors is a public health crisis. To educate and unite Pennsylvanians around the solution, Donate Life Pennsylvania will host its first-ever PA Donor Day on Jan. 8, 2020, aiming to surpass 5 million registered organ and tissue donors in the state.

The fact that one donor can save up to eight lives was the inspiration for the date of Jan. 8, 2020 (1-8-20); PA Donor Day is a collaboration with the Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE), Gift of Life Donor Program (GOL), and the Pennsylvania Departments of Health, Education and Transportation.

“PA Donor Day is a unique opportunity to create a unifying moment across the state, a day when we can all work together to do good, to encourage our family, friends, neighbors, colleagues and others to learn more about the life-saving impact of organ and tissue donation and to register,” said Susan Stuart, President and CEO of CORE. “By joining forces, together we can create a momentous impact and help make a difference in the lives of so many Pennsylvanians.”

Pennsylvania currently has a little more than 4.9 million registered donors. In addition to surpassing 5 million registered donors through PA Donor Day, DLPA aims to surpass the 50 percent mark — currently, 49.4 percent of eligible donors in Pennsylvania are registered.

Contrary to popular misconceptions, anyone can register as an organ and tissue donor regardless of age or health. To learn more about how to get involved with PA Donor Day and organ and tissue donation, visit https://www.donatelifepa.org/padonorday/ or follow @DonateLifePennsylvania on Facebook.