National Minority Donor Awareness Month is celebrated throughout the month of August. The goal of this annual observance is to increase organ donor registrations among communities of color, which make up nearly 60 percent of the more than 100,000 people on the national waitlist for life-saving organ transplants and to honor those who have been organ and tissue donors.

Educating Minorities About Transplants, Inc.(EMAT) nonprofit organization mission is to help educate and spread the awareness of the importance of organ/tissue donations amongst minority populations.

“Education is so important, especially among communities of color, where myths and misconceptions are more prevalent,” said EMAT Founder Shirley Brill.

To celebrate organ transplant donors, EMAT recently held their ‘ONE YES Makes the Difference Celebration Banquet’ at the HC Multicultural Event Center located in Arlington. A video greeting to the event was given by Transplant Surgeon Dr. Clive Callender, founder of The National Minority Organ Tissue Transplant and Education Program (MOTTEP), with Duval’s city and state representatives in attendance sharing stories of connecting to the transplant community.

The campaign kickoff was led by founder Shirley Brill, pastors, nursing students and guest highlight from Dr. DaVida Morton of Memphis, TN.  The special guest for the weekend event was Robert Chelsea, the first and oldest Black person in the world to receive a full facial transplant who shared his amazing story.  The weekend event welcomed more than 50 guests and culminated with panel discussions, organ donor facts and testimonials.

The panelists also included Dr. Martin Mai, Transplant Nephrologist at Mayo Clinic, kidney and heart transplants’ donors and Louis Quarterman of Miami who survived 48 days without a heart in 2006.

For more information call visit www.emat-inc.org.