Pensacola, Fla. – More than 5,700 Floridians are waiting for life-saving organ transplants, and thousands of others this year will need tissue and cornea transplants that can improve health and restore sight.

To help address this need, LifeNet Health is launching the “Be a Hero” campaign to raise awareness of organ, tissue and eye donation and encourage residents to register as a donor at donatelifeflorida.org. The campaign, which runs September through February, will utilize more than 30 local billboards throughout the Pensacola area.

“Being an organ, tissue and eye donor is the most selfless gift a person can give to others,” said Lesley Lang, Manager of Donor Development in Florida for LifeNet Health. “You have the ability to change lives forever with one decision.” 

LifeNet Health led a similar initiative in 2015 in the Jacksonville region, during which more than 4,000 people were added to Florida’s donor registry.

The number of organ donors in Florida — as with the rest of the U.S. — falls far short of the number of patients in need of transplants, and nationally, more than 1.75 million surgeries using donated tissue will take place this year. Many of these individuals may get a second chance at life due to the generosity of those who designate themselves as organ, tissue and eye donors on Florida’s registry.