National Donor Day is a time to focus on all types of donation – organ, eye, tissue, blood, platelets and marrow –by participating in blood/marrow drives or donor registration events. It is also a day to recognize our loved ones who have given the gift of donation, have received a donation, are currently waiting or did not receive an organ in time.
Many people who need transplants of organs and tissues cannot get them because of a shortage of donations. Of the 123,000 Americans currently on the waiting list for a lifesaving organ transplant, more than 101,000 need a kidney, but only 17,000 people receive one each year. Every day 12 people die waiting for a kidney. Organ and tissue donation helps others by giving them a second chance at life.
On average,
- Over 3,000 new patients are added to the kidney waiting list each month.1
- 13 people die each day while waiting for a life-saving kidney transplant.1
- There are currently 121,678 people waiting for lifesaving organ transplants in the U.S. Of these, 100,791 await kidney transplants. (as of 1/11/16) 1
- The median wait time for an individual’s first kidney transplant is 3.6 years and can vary depending on health, compatibility and availability of organs.2
Register Today to be a Donor!
Living Donation
You can also consider being a living kidney donor. Living donation takes place when a living person donates an organ or part of an organ to someone in need of a transplant. The donor is most often a close family member, such as a parent, child, brother or sister. A donor can also be a more distant family member, spouse, friend or co-worker. Non-directed donors - those who donate anonymously and do not know their recipients - are also becoming more common.
Visit the National Kidney Foundation to learn more about living donations.
Deceased Donation
Signing up online through your state registry or on your driver's license is a good first step in designating your wishes about donation, but letting your family or other loved one's know about your decision is vitally important. Family members are often asked to give consent for a loved one's donation, so it's important that they know your wishes.
Visit Donate Life America and register today.
Share the Love. Register Today.
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Citations
1. http://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/
2. http://www.usrds.org/2015/view/v2_07.aspx
Facts and statistics provided by the United States Renal Data System, UNOS, and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) and Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) Annual Report.