- As of April 5, there were 106,742 Americans awaiting lifesaving transplants.
- More than 84,000 Americans need a kidney transplant to survive, but last year only 16,829 kidney transplants were performed.
- 18 people die every day while waiting for a transplant.
- 1 organ donor can save 8 lives and change the lives of more than 50 people.
- Almost anyone can be an organ donor, regardless of age or medical history.
- All major religions in the U.S. support organ donation.
- Organ donors can still have open casket funerals.
- Donors are needed for all races and ethnic groups.
- Transplant success rates increase when organs are matched between members of the same ethnic background.
- Organ donation does not cost the donor’s family any money
Monday, April 5, 2010
April is National Donate Life Month
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Over half of the 106,000 Americans on the national transplant waiting list will die before they get a transplant. Most of these deaths are needless. Americans bury or cremate about 20,000 transplantable organs every year. Over 9,000 of our neighbors suffer and die needlessly every year as a result.
There is a simple way to put a big dent in the organ shortage -- give organs first to people who have agreed to donate their own organs when they die.
Giving organs first to organ donors will convince more people to register as organ donors. It will also make the organ allocation system fairer. People who aren't willing to share the gift of life should go to the back of the waiting list as long as there is a shortage of organs.
Anyone who wants to donate their organs to others who have agreed to donate theirs can join LifeSharers. LifeSharers is a non-profit network of organ donors who agree to offer their organs first to other organ donors when they die. Membership is free at www.lifesharers.org or by calling 1-888-ORGAN88. There is no age limit, parents can enroll their minor children, and no one is excluded due to any pre-existing medical condition.
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