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Be an Organ Donor

-Donate Life-



Every day in the United States an average of 17 people die while awaiting organ transplants because of a critical shortage of donors.

Each person who decides to become an organ and tissue donor has the potential of saving and enhancing up to 50 lives and taking up to eight people off of the organ transplant waiting list.

How can you become an organ donor?

When you decide that you want to become an organ donor, the most important thing for you to do is communticate those wishes to your family. To do this, you can either write your wishes down for your family to read after your death,complete an donor informatin card, or simply check yes to becoming an organ donor when you obtain a driver's license. Check your license today to make sure it says "organ donor" in green under your picture. If it doesn't, be sure to get this fixed.

If you choose to be an organ donor, at the time of your death, your family will be told about your gift documentation. If no documentation is present, your family will still be given the option of donation. By sharing your wishes with your family now, it will make this decision easier for them when the time comes.

If you have yet to make the pledge to become a donor, you can do the following:
Talk to your family and friends about your decison, and wishes to become an organ donor. Also make sure that you know their wishes too.
Make sure to obtain some sort of documentation with your signature on it. This can be in the form of a donor card, driver's license, or stated in your living will.
If you decide to use a donor card or living will, make sure to include your family members as witnesses.

Interesting facts:


"Every 13 minutes another name is added to the national transplant waiting list."

"Organs and tissue that can be donated include: heart, kidney, lungs,pancreas, liver, intestines, corneas, skin, tendons, bone, heart valves, and veins."

"During the past 10 years in the United States, the transplant waiting list has more than doubled with more than 85,000 men, women and children now awaiting heart, kidney, liver, lung and pancreas transplants."

One donor can:
� Donate kidneys to free two people from dialysis treatments needed to sustain life.
� Save the lives of patients awaiting heart, liver, lung or pancreas transplants.
� Give sight to two people through the donation of corneas.
� Donate bone to help repair injured joints or to help save an arm or leg threatened by cancer.
� Help burn victims heal more quickly through donation of skin, and provide healthy heart valves for someone whose life is threatened by malfunctioning or diseased valves.

source: Gift of Life www.donors1.com

Be an organ donor:
Download printable organ donor card HERE



For more information visit:
Gift of Life
This site contains information on history and facts of organ donation.

Transplant Living
This site lists the requirements for becoming an organ donor in each state.
Learn More...


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