BY BRIAN MURRAY

SPECIAL TO NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

TRENTON – In commemoration of Donate Life Month, Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno today joined NJ Sharing Network and approximately 1,000 participants for the Network’s inaugural Bergen County 5K at Bergen Community College. In New Jersey, nearly 5,000 residents are waiting for a life-saving transplant, with 3 more people added to the list every day.

“Through organ and tissue donation, one person can make a life-changing impact on as many as 50 lives,” said Lt. Governor Guadagno. “Being an organ donor is one of the most profound gifts you can give, because you are giving someone else a chance at a new, healthy life. That is the greatest and most valuable gift of all. Thanks to the efforts of the NJ Sharing Network, more of our friends and neighbors will receive that most precious gift in the years to come.”

More than 2.5 million New Jersey residents are registered organ and tissue donors. In 2014, 460 people received a life-saving transplant in New Jersey, more than a third of them from a living donor. Additionally, thousands of lives were enhanced and had physical function restored thanks to tissue donations.

“With nearly 5,000 New Jersey residents in need of a transplant, it is so important to have Lt. Governor Guadagno’s continued and ongoing support of our life-saving mission,” said Joe Roth, president and CEO of NJ Sharing Network. “We appreciate her attending our 5K Celebration of Life and look forward to introducing her to families whose lives have been touched by organ and tissue donation.”

The inaugural Bergen 5K Walk brought together donor families, transplant recipients, living donors, those waiting for a transplant, volunteers and hospital and corporate sponsors. This was the first of two events that comprise NJ Sharing Network’s Annual 5K Celebration of Life. The second event, the 5th annual 5K Walk and USATF Certified Race, will be held in June at NJ Sharing Network headquarters in New Providence.

NJ Sharing Network is a non-profit, federally designated organization responsible for the recovery and placement of donated organs and tissue for New Jersey residents in need of life-saving transplants. The NJ Sharing Network Foundation is committed to increasing the number of lives saved through education, research, donor family support and public awareness about the life-saving benefits of organ and tissue donation and transplantation. More information is available on the Network’s website at: www.NJSharingNetwork.org.