April is National Donate Life Month. It has been celebrated in April since 2003, and during this month, Americans are encouraged to register as organ, eye, and tissue donors. But April is also set aside to celebrate those heroes who have saved lives through their gift of donation.
Did you know?
- 113,000 men, women, and children are on the national transplant waiting list as of January 2019
- 36,528 transplants were performed in 2018
- 20 people die each day waiting for a transplant
- 95% of U.S. adults support organ donation, but only 58% are actually signed up as donors
- Another person is added to the waiting list every 10 minutes
- Only 3 in 1,000 people die in a way that allows for organ donation
- Each year, the number of people on the waiting list continues to be much larger than the number of donors and transplants
- One donor can save eight lives through organ donation
- One donor can restore sight to two people through cornea donation
- One donor can heal the lives of 75 people through tissue donation
- source: www.organdonor.gov
The gift of life is beautiful.
It’s a beautiful and selfless act when the gift of life is passed on to someone else through organ donation. Hospitals across the country honor this sacrifice and show their respect to those patients whose final act in this life is to donate their organs to others. Like in the video below, they may have an “Honor Walk” as the patient is taken back to the operating room. Employees from all over the hospital come together to line the way from the patient’s room to the O.R., silently standing there in support of the family and honoring the patient’s final contribution.
And to the transplant nurses and techs –
Thank you for being there. Thank you for your dedication and commitment. Whether it’s during the procurement process or during the transplant, you help make donation possible. Holidays, weekends, late at night, or in the early hours of the morning, your hard work is making the donor’s gift a reality for someone else. What a privilege it is to be a part of something so extraordinary!
Give the gift of life.
We often say that life is “fleeting.” That our lives are nothing but a moment – we’re here today and gone tomorrow. But, I believe that the time we spend on this earth, living the lives we’ve been given, is beautiful. However quickly time may fly by, the time that we invest in others, the memories that we create, and the impact that our life has on someone else can create a legacy for generations to come. And through organ donation, we can have an impact that reaches farther than we could ever imagine.
Are you registered as an organ donor?
You can get more information here.
Until next time,
Melanie