By Connor McCleskey

Posted on October 17, 2013

French actresses Catherine Deneuve and Victoria Abril, along with about 100 other French celebrities, made a public plea. Tuesday for increased organ donations in France. Working with the Transplantation Foundation to mark the 9^th annual World Day for Organ Donation and Transplantation, the celebrities undertook a public pledge to donate organs in order to raise awareness of the desperate need for organs in France.

Despite high levels of medical care, France has struggled to find organs for transplant, usually due to the family of the prospective donor refusing to consent to the operation. The Transplantation Foundation pointed to data showing that, since 2007, the number of people on waiting lists has increased by five times the number of transplants performed. In 2011, only 78 operations were performed, despite 5,023 people on waiting lists. In a statement, the organization said that refusal to donate organs reached its highest levels last year, a development it called “worrying.”

The Transplantation Foundation called for increased dialogue between potential donors and their families, saying that, “If we’re all willing to receive, we should all be willing to donate.”

This is not Deneuve’s first foray into philanthropy, however. In 1994 she was appointed the UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for the Safeguarding of Film Heritage. She subsequently resigned her position in 2003 to protest the nomination of French businessman Pierre Falcone to the post of Angolan representative, which he used to dodge allegations of illegal arms trafficking. In the past, the prolific French actress has been involved with many different charitable organizations, such as Children Action, Children of Africa, Orphelins Romains, Reporters Without Borders, Amnesty International, and many others. She has also recorded radio and TV commercials for Handicap International, denouncing the use of cluster bombs in modern warfare.

For more information click here.