Pittsburgh, November 4, 2013 – The Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE), a federally designated not-for-profit organ procurement organization (OPO) serving Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and parts of New York, is pleased to recognize Cynthia Valenta of Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh as the recipient of the 2013 Donate Life Award. The award honors a nurse for her outstanding commitment to the donation program at their hospital, along with her dedication to organ, tissue and cornea donors and their families. Valenta received the award at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing’s 15th annual Cameos of Caring Awards Gala event on November 2 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh.

“On behalf of CORE, I’d like to congratulate Cynthia on this award and thank her for her continued commitment to donation through her work as a nurse,” said Susan Stuart, president and CEO of CORE. “Nurses play a critical role in the organ, tissue and cornea donation process. With compassion, they educate families on their options and let them know how their loved one’s legacy can live on through donation. We are grateful for nurses like Cynthia.”

A resident of South Park, Valenta currently serves as clinical director, critical care services at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. In this role, she is the administrator for the pediatric and neonatal intensive care units, transport team, respiratory care, critical care medicine and pastoral care, and responsible for 67 in-patient beds. She has more than 35 years of nursing experience and has served UPMC’s patients for the past 20 years in a variety of roles, including clinical director of neuro/trauma services, unit director of the neuroscience intensive care unit, patient care manager and clinical nurse manager. Valenta holds a Master of Science in Nursing from Duquesne University and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Carlow College. She is a Certified Neuroscience Registered Nurse (CNRN) through the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses.

Nationally, more than 120,000 people are awaiting an organ transplant. At least 18 will die each day without receiving one, including two from CORE’s service area. For every person who donates their organs, tissues and corneas, up to 50 lives can be saved or dramatically improved.

For more information about CORE, visit core.org or call 1-800-DONORS-7.

About CORE
The Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE) is one of 58 federally designated not-for-profit organ procurement organizations (OPOs) in the United States. CORE works closely with donor families and designated health care professionals to coordinate the surgical recovery of organs, tissues and corneas for transplantation. CORE also facilitates the computerized matching of donated organs and placement of corneas. With headquarters in Pittsburgh and an office in Charleston, West Virginia, CORE oversees a region that encompasses 155 hospitals and almost six million people throughout western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Chemung County, NY. For more information, visit core.org or call 1-800-DONORS-7.