For Immediate Release

Four Corners Health Department, serving Butler, Polk, Seward, and York Counties

Contact Vicki L. Duey, 402-362-2621 or toll free 877-337-3573

Date:  Feb. 2, 2012

Valentine’s Day is National Donor Day

Can you think of a more loving gesture than making February 14 the day you join thousands of Americans in making the decision to become a donor?  Organ donation is the process of giving an organ, or a part of an organ, for the purpose of transplantation into another person. Transplantation gives hope to thousands of people with organs that have quit working or don’t work as well, and provides many others with active and renewed lives.

Every 10 minutes another name is added to the national organ transplant waiting list. Eighteen people will die each day waiting for an organ transplant. Ninety percent of Americans say they support donation, but only 30% know the essential steps to take to be a donor. 

Think about these numbers:

112,657 Patients are Waiting*

62,648 are Multicultural Patients*

1,800 are Pediatric Patients*

21,354 Organ Transplants Performed in 2011

10,558 Organ Donors in 2011

*as of January 2012 Donate Life America

Donated tissues such as skin, bone, and heart valves can dramatically improve the quality of life for those who are the receiver, and even save lives. Cornea donation is necessary to preserve and to restore eye sight. The cornea is the clear dome-like window covering the front of the eye that allows the light to pass through to the retina, which enables us to see.

Talk with your family about your decision. They will be involved in the donation arrangements when you die. If they do not know your wishes of becoming a donor, your wishes may never be carried out. There is no cost to donors, their estate, or their family. Mark your driver’s license so that the license shows your plan to donate. (Each state varies.)

While it is important to talk about end-of-life decisions including organ donation, it is becoming more common to donate organs and partial organs while living. Kidneys are the most common organs donated by living donors. Other organs that can be donated while living include a lobe of a lung, and a partial liver, pancreas, or intestine.

 Even though education about organ donation has been getting out to the public, many people don’t understand organ donation or don’t have the correct information. To learn more about becoming a donor go to: http://donatelife.net/ or http://www.nedonation.org/ . For resources or a presentation on this topic, contact Four Corners Health Department at www.fourcorners.ne.gov, or by phone at 877-337-3573 and 402-362-2621.