When the region’s golfers face off this Friday during the first Tri County Classic at the Tantallon Country Club in Fort Washington, there will be more at stake than bragging rights after the last round has ended.
The event brings Prince George’s together with Montgomery and Calvert Counties to benefit the Kidney Foundation of the National Capital Region. Johnson, who chairs the event, said in a recent statement that he hopes the outing will highlight the need for kidney screening and organ donation. He explained that such procedures could save the lives of thousands of county residents who are at risk of kidney disease mainly caused by hypertension and diabetes.
Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson along with Council Chair Marilynn Bland and Health Officer Dr. Donald Shell urge residents to get screened for kidney disease and to consider becoming organ donors. / Photo: Office of the County Executive
“This event will play a critical role in drawing attention to the battle that thousands of our state’s citizen’s fight on a daily basis,” said Delegate Herman Taylor (D) Montgomery County. “Many are currently living with hypertension, significantly increasing their risk of kidney disease. The only way to reverse the impact of this disease is through prevention and educating our citizens.”
Organizers say the event also focuses on the plight of Etienne Cromer and radio personality Olivia Fox of Majic 102.3 FM. Both are on dialysis. The two women share the rare O positive blood type that makes it harder to find a kidney donor.
“Renal Failure is a major health concern for many of our residents in Prince George’s County,” said County Health Officer Dr. Donald Shell. “According to Maryland Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System, 30 percent of Prince George’s County residents have been told by their health professional that they have high blood pressure, 10% percent were told they have diabetes, making many of them at risk for kidney disease. The risk for kidney disease can be reduced by 75 percent through early diagnosis and treatment of high blood pressure and diabetes.”
Information about kidney disease and organ and tissue donation is available at the National Kidney Foundation website at www.kidneywdc.org, including free kidney screening through its Kidney Early Evaluation Program and “25 Facts About Organ Donation and Transplantation”, at the National Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program website at www.nationalmottep.org. You can register to be an organ donor at www.beadonor.org, the website of the Washington Regional Transplant Community.
--PGS Staff
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