A campaign targeting both new and renewing licensed drivers has been launched by the Legacy of Life Hawaii foundation to encourage organ and tissue donation.

The group has garnered local celebrities such as Raiatea Helm, University of Hawaii women’s volleyball coach Dave Shoji, KHON anchorman Joe Moore and Miss Hawaii 2012 Skyler Kamaka to pose for posters and help promote the message at motor vehicle and licensing sites across the state.

Approximately 400 patients in Hawaii are suffering from end-stage organ failure and are awaiting transplants. Thousands more can benefit from tissue and bone donations, according to Legacy of Life Hawaii, the only organization in the state that is federally designated to recover organs and tissues for transplant.

Residents older than 18 can register as a donor by simply checking the appropriate box on their application for a state ID or new driver’s license or renewal.

Legacy of Life Hawaii added a tissue recovery program this year, resulting in a 31 percent increase in tissue donor recovery, the agency said.

A fundraising effort enabled it to purchase a new medical transport van that is being used to carry donor tissue and organs in a secure and sterile manner. With the message "It’s the right thing to do" wrapped around its sides, the van also serves as a moving billboard to encourage organ and tissue donation.

Hawaii’s organ donor rate for adults is estimated at 60 percent, according to Legacy of Life. One donor can help up to 70 people in need of organs and tissues such as heart valves, bones and cornea.

Dr. German Estrella, the agency’s tissue program director, described several situations in which donated tissue helps patients.

"A teenager was carrying a shotgun and it went off and amputated the upper arm. We were able to reconstruct and reattach the arm," he explained.

"Dialysis patients sometimes need implanted veins. After this procedure, they are able to go through the dialysis process with more ease and less pain."

Using human tissue lessens the chance of infection and complications, he said.

"There is no better substitute for human tissue."

For more information, call 599-7630 or visit www.legacyoflifehawaii.org.