In recognition of National Donor Sabbath weekend, LewisGale Medical Center is partnering with LifeNet Health to host a remembrance service in honor of local organ, tissue and eye donors. The service will be held Nov. 7 at 2 p.m. in the LewisGale Medical Center Education Center Auditorium and is open to the public.

“These donors have given the gift of life and enhanced the lives of many people in our community,” said Scott Kendrick, LifeNet liasion for LewisGale Medical Center. “At LewisGale we are committed to supporting donor families and offering the option of organ donation to our patients through our partnership with LifeNet Health.”

The service will include remarks from a LewisGale Medical Center nurse and her husband, who have been personally touched by the donation process and a local donor family. Shadow boxes and quilts from donor families will also be on display.

Last year, there were more than 28,000 transplants in the United States, and more than 700 of those were in Virginia. More than 2,800 people are currently on the waiting list in Virginia for a live-saving organ. One donor can save up to nine lives.

– Submitted by Joy Sutton, Marketing Communications Manager