Articles from prior issues of The Advocate

March/April 2000

Hundreds of U.S. Mayors to Lead an Unprecedented Coast-to-Coast Relay To Boost Organ And Tissue Donation

Millennium Mayorthon will kick off in April 2000 in San Francisco and run through 20 states on the way to a spectacular Labor Day 2000 climax in Washington, DC

WASHINGTON, DC - IN THE SPRING and summer of 2000, from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge to the historic monuments of Washington, DC and crossing 6,000 miles in between, hundreds of mayors of large cities and small towns across America will join forces in an unprecedented effort to save lives. They will be trying to establish a new Guinness World Record by staging the first coast-to-coast mayoral relay. Their goal is to address the critical need for organ and tissue donors and make it the first public health problem to be solved in the United States in the new century. The First Family Pledge Millennium Mayorthon will begin in San Francisco on Sunday, April 16. Mayors from throughout the country will take part as the Mayorthon moves across 20 states through cities such as San Jose, Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Austin, Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Oklahoma City, St. Louis, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Madison. Following a midsummer celebration in Chicago, the Millennium Mayorthon will continue on to Indianapolis, Detroit, Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Boston, Hartford, New Haven, New York City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. It will conclude with a grand finale in Washington, DC during Labor Day Weekend 2000. As they run, jog, and walk through their communities, town mayors will be accompanied by transplant recipients from their own hometowns--adults and kids who are alive and healthy because they received the gift of life. In addition to current and former mayors, the relay will include local surgeons and members of the organizing American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS) and the American Red Cross. The relay is also expected to have the support of hundreds of state and local organ procurement organizations, organ transplant centers, transplant recipients, and donor families. Through the Mayorthon, an estimated 90 million people will learn about the critical need to increase organ and tissue donations throughout the country. Dr. Ronald W. Busuttil, the president of the ASTS, noted that “By the time the Millennium Mayorthon begins, more than 70,000 men, women and children will be on rapidly growing waiting lists. They will each be hoping that an organ becomes available in time to give them a new chance at life.” Dr. Busuttil added, “Without an increase in donors, one of those Americans will die every two hours. We can save those lives by increasing public awareness and support for organ donation.” Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy put it this way. “As a veteran runner of marathons, I can tell you that there is no more important cause for running a race-and it’s one in which I plan to be a leader on behalf of the thousands of Americans who are waiting for a second chance at life.” He added, “In the long run, it’s about saving lives.” Information about the Millennium Mayorthon is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.mayorthon.com.