UNOS DonateLife

December 19, 2001

UNOS Online Honored

UNOS Online continues to gain recognition among Web and communications experts.

UNOS Online was recently honored by the Health Improvement Institute* with a 2001 Award of Excellence for health-related www sites. The award is given to Web sites that HII judges consider excellent in communicating health information.

UNOS Online also drew recognition from the Richmond, Virginia chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). Sarah Pierce, Internet Communications Specialist, accepted an award of merit reflecting UNOS' communications efforts to the public. Only two other awards were given in the Web category, another award of merit and an honorable mention. Entries were judged by a panel of IABC member judges from all over Virginia.

Finally, the American Association of Retired Person's (AARP) magazine, My Generation**, lists unos.org as one of its 10 picks for the most reliable online medical information in its January-February 2002 edition. In the article, titled "Dr. Web Site Will See You Now", five medical experts advise readers about where to go on the Internet for the most reliable medical information.

The Internet has opened a medical library in our homes and Americans are making good use of medical Web sites. According to a poll by Web research firm Harris Interactive+, the number of people who have visited online medical sites is around 100 million and continues to grow.

UNOS Online is one of the pioneering transplant Web sites. It holds more than 4,000 HTML pages, in addition to thousands of dynamic pages. Currently, the site receives more than a thousand visits a day.

UNOS recognized the potential of Web-based communications at an early date. Developing a Web site was recognized as a vehicle to share the transplant data UNOS collects. The site, which was launched in 1995, has evolved as the need for information from the transplant community, patients, the media and general public has soared. The site is a roundup of the latest and most accurate data and information on solid organ transplantation. Visitors to the site can find current policies and regulations related to transplantation, statistics on organ donors and recipients, as well as news and links to many other transplant-related organizations.

The site's comprehensive breadth has earned UNOS numerous honors, including awards from MedExplorer Search Engine, Health Improvement Institute and Medsite. Additionally, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times and the National Academy Press have all recognized the UNOS site as an unmatched source for transplant-related data, information and news.

* Health Information Institute: www.hii.org 
** AARP Article: www.mygeneration.org 
+ Poll: www.harrisinteractive.com