The University of Toledo Medical Center, in partnership with Life Connection of Ohio, will honor National Donate Life Month with a flag-raising ceremony Tuesday, April 4.

The event will begin at 10 a.m. outside UTMC’s main entrance, near Mulford Library.

For the last two decades, National Donate Life Month has served to highlight the ongoing need for organ, eye and tissue donation and to honor those whose donations have helped save the lives of others.

This year’s flag-raising ceremony will feature Dr. Harvey Popovich, a local physician and living kidney donor, and Tammy Sprow, whose husband became an organ donor after a fatal 2012 car crash.

Nearly 43,000 organ transplants were performed in the United States last year, an all-time high. That includes new records for the number of kidney, liver, heart, and lung transplants.

UTMC, northwest Ohio’s only organ transplant center, also set a record in 2022, completing 200 kidney transplants, up from 174 in 2021.

However, the need for organ donation remains great. More than 100,000 Americans are currently awaiting an organ transplant, including more than 2,600 in Ohio and nearly 2,400 in Michigan.

“Organ donation truly is giving the gift of life,” said Dr. Kunal Yadav, a transplant surgeon at UTMC. “This event is an important way for our community to recognize donors and encourage others to think about registering as an organ and tissue donor.”

For more information on organ, eye and tissue donation or to register as a donor, visit Life Connection of Ohio’s website.