The Hall County Board of Commissioners declared April as Donate Life Month in Hall County at its Thursday board meeting.

Commissioner Billy Powell read the declaration, which highlighted the need for organ donation.

"The need for organ and eye donation grows daily as a new patient is added to the waiting list for an organ transplant every 13 minutes," he said. "Donating life through organ tissue and eye donation is the ultimate act of generosity and kindness Hall County citizens can perform."

Times Copy Editor Amber Allen was selected by LifeLink of Georgia to accept the declaration.

LifeLink of Georgia is a nonprofit community service organization dedicated to the recovery of high quality organs and tissue for transplantation therapy.

"I’m a living organ donor. I donated my kidney about four years ago in August," Allen said. "We try to educate the public about the process of donating organs and tissues. It’s perfectly safe and a very warm gift."

Allen chronicled her organ donation experience in an August 2008 article in The Times.