The groundbreaking project, launched during National Donate Life Month, uses location data to show how organ and tissue donation impacts the users’ surrounding communities and encourages donor registrations.
SAN RAMON, Calif. (PRWEB) April 16, 2018
Donor Network West, the organ and tissue recovery organization for northern California and Nevada, and Mapbox have launched A Mission to Heal: Hope by the Numbers, an innovative project that uses location data to show how organ and tissue donation impacts the users’ surrounding communities and encourages donor registrations.
Mapbox is the location data platform for mobile and web applications. The company provides building blocks to add location features like maps, search and navigation into any experience users want to create.
Visitors to the project’s link can click on any county included in the interactive maps or type an address to find out how many people near them are waiting for an organ transplant or have registered as donors. The data is for the 40 counties in Donor Network West’s service area.
The project - powered by data from the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), Donate Life California and population data from the U.S. Census Bureau 2016 American Community Survey - also explores the connection between donor registrations and race and highlights stories of individuals who have either received a transplant or are currently waiting.
“We have the honor to serve diverse and multicultural communities in our service area. This uniqueness brings both opportunity and challenges for donation and transplantation. The data show the impact of higher diversity and multicultural communities on lower donor registration rates,” says Cindy Siljestrom, Chief Executive Officer of Donor Network West. “Our community education efforts are tailored to reach these unique communities with messages that will inspire them to consider donation.”
Nearly 10,000 people in northern California and Nevada are awaiting a life-saving organ transplant. One organ donor can save the lives of up to eight people and a tissue donor can heal more than 75 others. Anyone can register as a donor at DonorNetworkWest.org or at the DMV.
About Donor Network West
Donor Network West saves and heals lives by facilitating organ and tissue recovery for transplantation. The organization was established in 1987, and is an official Donate Life organization accredited by the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO) and the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB). Federally designated to serve 40 counties in northern California and Nevada, Donor Network West partners with the Department of Motor Vehicles and the state-authorized donor registries. For information, visit DonorNetworkWest.org and follow us on social media: @mydnwest