TAMPA – During the month of August, LifeLink of Florida will celebrate National Multiethnic Donor Awareness Month (NMDAM), known in most areas as National Minority Donor Awareness Month, to bring heightened awareness to organ and tissue donation and transplantation in minority communities.

Minorities often experience higher rates of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease which can contribute to organ failure, especially kidney failure. African Americans are three times more likely than Caucasian Americans to suffer from kidney failure and Hispanic Americans are 1.5 times more likely than non-Hispanics to have kidney failure.

During NMDAM, LifeLink will highlight the need for more organ, eye and tissue donors within multicultural communities, provide donation education, encourage donor registration, and promote healthy living and disease prevention to decrease the need for transplantation. Individuals interested in celebrating this month are encouraged to follow LifeLink on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter to participate in the education programs offered.

How can you participate in National Multiethnic Donor Awareness Month?

August 26th from 10am-2pm: Walgreen's Community Outreach Event

LifeLink will be participating at in-store tabling activities this August during National Multiethnic Donor Awareness Month to offer Walgreens’ customers the opportunity to learn more about organ, eye and tissue donation and registration at the following stores below:

• 2199 W Busch BLVD, Tampa, FL 33612
• 875 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr St N., St. Petersburg, FL 33701
• 5800 Bee Ridge Rd, Sarasota, FL 34233
• 17970 N Tamiami Trl, North Fort Myers, FL 33903
• 3593 Cleveland Ave, Fort Myers, FL 33901
• 2110 SE Ocean BLVD, Stuart, FL 34996

NMDAM is a collaborative initiative of Donate Life America (DLA), Association for Multicultural Affairs in Transplantation (AMAT), Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO), The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), National Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program (MOTTEP) and National Kidney Foundation (NKF) to save and improve the quality of life of diverse communities by creating a positive culture for organ, eye, and tissue donation.