Day 25 of #30DaysOfCaring is all about donating the gift of life by signing up to be an organ donor via OrganDonor.gov. Organ and tissue 
donation and transplantation provide a second chance at life for thousands of people each year. Each day, about 79 people receive organ transplants. However, 18 people die each day waiting for transplants that can’t take place because of the shortage of donated organs. YOU can help change that!
Why Donate?
- You may save up to 8 lives through organ donation and enhance many others through tissue donation.
- Thousands die every year waiting for a donor organ that never comes. YOU have the power to change that!
Last year alone, organ donors made more than 28,000 transplants possible. Another one million people received cornea and other tissue transplants that helped them recover from trauma, bone damage, spinal injuries, burns, hearing impairment and vision loss.
FACTS:
- Anyone, regardless of age or medical history, can sign up to be a donor. The transplant team will determine at an individual’s time of death whether donation is possible.
- Most major religions in the United States support organ donation and consider donation as the final act of love and generosity toward others.
- If you are sick or injured and admitted to a hospital, the number one priority is to save your life.
- When matching donor organs to recipients, the computerized matching system considers issues such as the severity of illness, blood type, time spent waiting, other important medical information, and geographic location. The recipient’s financial or celebrity status or race does not figure in.
- An open casket funeral is usually possible for organ, eye, and tissue donors. Through the entire donation process, the body is treated with care, respect, and dignity.
- There is no cost to donors or their families for organ or tissue donation.
- Every state provides access to a donor registry where its residents can indicate their donation decision.
- Federal law prohibits buying and selling organs in the U.S. Violators are punishable by prison sentences and fines.
- People can recover from comas, but not brain death. Coma and brain death are not the same. Brain death is final.
Become A Donor
You have the opportunity to be one of the individuals who make these miracles happen. By deciding to be a donor, you give the gift of hope … hope for the thousands of individuals awaiting organ transplants and hope for the millions of individuals whose lives could be enhanced through tissue transplants.
Use this link and then select your state to register as an organ, tissue, and eye donor.
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