Giving the Gift of Life

Did you know that just one organ, tissue, or eye donor could help save the lives of around 50 different people? The most common types of organ donations are liver, heart, kidney, intestine, lung, pancreas, and tissue donations.

Organ donations can be crucial for people suffering with certain conditions. In 2013 alone, over 28,000 people received lifesaving organ donations. Many people who receive organ donations go on to live long and healthy lives after receiving their donation. For example, 5 years after receiving organ donations, 92% of people who received kidney transplants from living donors were still living, 77% of people who received heart transplants were still living, and 81% of people who received liver transplants from a living donor were still living.

There are currently 120 million organ donors and over 120,000 people awaiting donations in the United States. Specifically in New York, there are over 10,500 awaiting life saving organ donations. Our donation rates are some of the lowest in the country. Every day about 18 people waiting for organ donations die from their conditions. Over 77,000 people awaiting organ donations are multicultural patients and over 2,000 children are waiting for donations.

New Yorkers can register to become organ donors online through the Department of Motor Vehicles by going to this website: http://dmv.ny.gov/more-info/register-become-organ-eye-or-tissue-donor. You may also register to become an organ donor by mail through the New York State Department of Health. To print the mail-in-form for organ donation you can go to this website: http://www.health.ny.gov/forms/organ_donation_enrollment_form.pdf

Jaime Venditti, State Coordinator, New York Health Works

Resources:

http://donatelife.net/organ-donation/

http://www.organdonor.gov/about/data.html

http://www.donors1.org/learn2/organs/