April is National Donate Life Month

For many people, April is a time of hope and renewal. Longer daylight hours, warming temperatures, and spring showers awaken our senses and enliven the world around us: buds emerge from winter-dormant trees, bulbs poke through the thawing ground and migrating birds head back to their summer homes. Why not extend that sense of hope and renewal to others who might not feel it by becoming a registered organ donor? National Donate Life Month is a time to honor organ, eye, and tissue donors as well as the people whose lives they have saved and enhanced with their gifts.

Why Should I Be a Donor?

Every registered donor offers hope to people who need transplants—and to their loved ones. Currently, more than 103,000 people are on the national transplant list, with another person added every 8 minutes. Each day, 17 people die while waiting for a life-saving transplant.

Registering to be an organ, eye, or tissue donor means that someday you might be able to help others in need. The number of patients needing a transplant rises faster than the number of organs available. Therefore, the more people who register, the more life-saving matches can be made. One donor can save up to eight lives, restore sight to two people through cornea donation, and heal more than 75 lives through tissue donation.

Types of Donations: Living and Deceased

A living donation is just what is sounds like—an opportunity to save or improve a life while you’re still alive. A living kidney donation, for instance, is possible because you can live a healthy life with one functioning kidney. Another example of a living donation is your liver, which consists of two lobes, one of which can be donated because it will regenerate to normal size and function in 2 to 3 months. Living tissue donation is used to promote healing and to treat burns or painful wounds.

Deceased donation can occur only after death has been declared by medical professionals who are not part of the donation and transplant process. If the patient is not a registered donor, the family will be asked to authorize donation. Only then can recovery of donated organs, corneas, and tissue take place. The donor and the donor’s family will be treated with respect and care throughout this process.

Who Can Be a Donor?

You are never too old—or too young—to donate. People of any age and medical history can be potential donors. The health of your organs is more important than your age and will ultimately determine what can be donated.

In the United States, any adult age 18 or older can register to be an organ, eye, and tissue donor, and in some states, like Wisconsin, youth as young as 15 can register.

When you are a registered donor, a national system matches available organs from the donor with people on the waiting list based on blood and tissue type, body size, degree of illness, proximity, and time on the list.

All major religions support donation as a final act of generosity and compassion.

How Can I Register to Be an Organ Donor?

Once you’ve made the decision to be an organ donor, registering is easy!

• You can register at your local DMV when you receive or renew your driver’s license or state I.D.
• You can visit the National Donate Life registry at RegisterMe.org.
• In Wisconsin, you can register at DonateLifeWisconsin.org.