‘Donate Life’ ceremony to honor donors

staff report

YOUNGSTOWN — St. Elizabeth Health Center and LifeBanc, the organ and tissue recovery organization in Northeast Ohio, will pay tribute to the hospital’s Youngstown-area organ donors and their families in a special “Donate Life” flag-raising ceremony from 11 to 11:15 a.m. Friday in the hospital’s Finnegan Auditorium.

The event is sponsored by LifeBanc and St. Elizabeth’s Donor Council.

St. Elizabeth Health Center was one of the top hospitals in Northeast Ohio in 2007 for promoting organ donations, with 13 organ donors. Its level I trauma center was also honored in October by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with the Medal of Honor for exceeding two national criteria in support of organ donation, said Gordon Bowen, LifeBanc chief executive officer.