CarolinaEast Medical Center announced on Mar. 30 that it will participate in a statewide Donate Life Flag-raising ceremony and moment of silence organized by HonorBridge. The event, called Pause to Give Life, aims to promote organ, eye, and tissue donation while honoring donors, their families, recipients, and those awaiting transplants across North Carolina.
Pause to Give Life is held annually in April as part of National Donate Life Month. This year’s ceremony will take place on Wednesday, April 1 at 10:08 a.m., a time chosen because one donor can save eight lives. A moment of silence for 30 seconds will follow the flag raising to recognize more than 3,000 patients waiting for life-saving organ transplants in North Carolina. The local event at CarolinaEast Medical Center will be held outside near the entrance of the Emergency Department.
The Donate Life flag was first introduced in 2006 and has since become a national symbol representing unity and hope for those affected by donation and transplantation. Over the past two decades, more than 50,000 such flags have been flown across the United States.
HonorBridge is a federally designated nonprofit organ procurement organization serving over seven million people in North Carolina and parts of Virginia. In 2025 alone, HonorBridge facilitated hundreds of donations and transplants throughout its service area.
In recognition of its efforts with HonorBridge to promote organ donation awareness and increase registered donors nationwide, CarolinaEast Medical Center received Platinum Recognition from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2024.
Anyone aged eighteen or older with a North Carolina driver’s license can register as an organ donor regardless of health or background status by visiting www.honorbridge.org/registerme/ or any local DMV office.
