Organ & Tissue Donation Awareness (OTDA)
Every 16-year-old student who applies for a PA driver's license is asked to make a decision that could mean life or death to one of more than 7,000 Pennsylvanians who are currently on the transplant waiting list.
The critical shortage of organ and tissue donors is considered to be a national health crisis. The OTDA Project assists secondary students in pre-thinking the critical issues surrounding organ and tissue donation so that each teen can make an informed decision and communicate that decision to his or her family members.
The project goals are to:
- Provide OTDA information and curricular support to Pennsylvania's school districts.
- Assist secondary educators in using OTDA materials and resources.
Register today for Organ and Tissue Donation Basics Online Learning Modules - The six modules are one-hour Act 48-approved online sessions based off of the OTDA Curriculum Toolkit. The modules can be completed in any order.
- Session 1 - Introduction to OTDA Classroom Toolkit
- Session 2 - Introduction to Biomedical Information
- Session 3 - Introduction to Human Experience and Discovery
- Session 4 - Introduction to Working with Community Resources
- Session 5 - Introduction to Critical Thinking and Decision Making
- Session 6 - Introduction to Issues and Considerations
OTDA Implementation Site Mini Grant
To apply for an OTDA 2018-2019 Mini Grant, click HERE!
To see how educators have implemented the OTDA Mini Grant, click on the links below:
- Bald Eagle Area School District 2016-2017
- Brentwood High School 2015-2016
- Career Institute of Technology 2016-2017
- Hazelton Area Academy of Sciences 2015-2016
- Mercer Area High School 2016-2017
- Phoenixville Area High School 2015-2016
- Southern Fulton High School 2016-2017
- Twin Valley High School 2015-2016
Check out what OTDA is doing at Southern Fulton High School!
OTDA Project Services and Curricular Materials
The cornerstone of the OTDA curricular package is the award-winning 112-page classroom toolkit. Aligned with the Pennsylvania Academic Standards, this interdisciplinary teaching tool is easy to use and completely reproducible for immediate use in the secondary education setting. The OTDA Project hosts an annual mini grant competition for Pennsylvania secondary schools to encourage teachers to implement the OTDA Curriculum Toolkit in their classroom. Awards of up to $4,000 will be given for the 2018-19 school year. The kit contains teacher-developed lesson plans, resources, and real-life stories from across Pennsylvania.
OTDA Essentials Newsletters
For more OTDA information, please contact Karen Herr at 717-606-1795, email, or submit the contact form.