APRIL IS DONATE LIFE MONTH. A time to reflect on the critical need for registered organ, eye and tissue donors and the 104,000 patients on the national transplant waiting list. A single organ donor can save the lives of eight people. Tissue donation can improve the healing process of 75 patients. Patients on the national waiting list often wait 3-5 years for their needed organs.
Living donation is an alternative available to patients needing a kidney or liver transplant. Individuals usually receive their new kidney or liver within a year of finding a matching donor, in comparison to a 3 to 5 year wait on the transplant waiting list. Finding a living donor is a process, however. It involves finding someone willing to make the donation that is in good physical and mental health and then also being a compatible match based on several medical criteria. Living donor transplants generally result in a better long term outcome. In 2022, 6,465 lives were saved as a result of the “gift of life” from a living donor.
If you want more information about living donation or are considering becoming a living donor, explore the Donate Life Wisconsin’s frequently asked questions page. The National Kidney Foundation also offers a series of self-paced online programs on living donation.
National Donate Life Month is also a time to reflect on a critical need for more diversity within organ donation by members of various racial and ethnic communities. Although successful donation and transplantation occurs between people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, matches of people within the same racial or ethnic group often have a higher success.
The need for more racial and ethnic diversity among organ and tissue donation is critical. 58% of those on the national waiting list are from African American/Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Alaska Native and multiracial descent. These groups of people are also at a higher risk of developing kidney disease, heart disease and diabetes than other groups.
Consider becoming
an organ donor today.
Register here
To spotlight April as Donate Life Month in a variety of places in Wisconsin, the National Kidney Foundation of Wisconsin has organized a variety of events including educational webinars, information fairs, KEEP healthy screenings and more. For more details view the various calendar announcements for April.
Donate Life Month National Observances
April 10 Pause to Give Life Flag Raising Ceremony
In conjunction with other planned nationwide Donate Life flag raising ceremonies and in partnership with the West Bend Community Memorial Library and Versiti Blood Centers, a flag raising ceremony will be observed in West Bend at 1:08pm to highlight the fact that 1 organ, eye and tissue donor can save 8 lives. A 1 minute and 4 second moment of silence will follow to acknowledge the 104,000 patients waiting for a life saving transplant. A small reception will follow in the library.
Throughout the month of April the West Bend library will share a collection of organ donation stories, along with information on becoming a registered organ donor and facts about living donation.
April 11 National Living Donor Day
National Living Donors Day honors the living organ donors that have given one of their kidneys or a part of their liver to someone waiting to regain their normal life.
Living organ donation was developed as a result of the extremely high shortage of deceased donors. For a patient waiting for a transplant, the wait can be reduced from 3 – 5 years on the national transplant waiting list to about a year with a living donor.
You don’t have to be a blood relative to be a living donor to someone in need, although it may increase the chance of being a good match. Anyone over the age of 18 with good physical and mental health can be considered for living donation. Explore the Donate Life Wisconsin’s frequently asked questions page. Additional information is also available on the Donate Life Wisconsin, National Kidney Foundation and Donate Life America websites.
April 21 – 27 National Pediatric Transplant Week
It is often overlooked or forgotten that children of all ages also need organ transplants. Of the 104,000 patients on the national transplant waiting list over 1900 are children under the age of 18. Of those 1900 children, 1 in 4 is a child under five years old.
Two of the factors used in matching potential donors to a recipient are the size of the recipient’s body and the size of the donor organ. As a result, very small children generally need donations from other children. In various situations the donation can also come from an adult.
Children’s donors can range in age from newborns to 17, but generally are between 11 and 17 years old. Interestingly in 2020, 120 pediatric donors were infants less than 12 months old.
For more information related to pediatric transplantation and donation, visit the Pediatric Donation page at Donate Life America.
Spread the Word – Register to Become a Donor
Help spread the word about the critical need of organ, eye and tissue donation and registering as an organ, eye and tissue donor on your social media channels! Make April a time to honor the donors, recipients, their families and their caregivers. A time to recognize the medical profession teams working hard to respect the gift of donation and saving the lives of those waiting for a gift of renewed life or improved healing.
The Donate Life America organization has provided copyrighted, size appropriate graphics to help with spreading your message. Scroll down their National Donate Life Month page to find them.
Make the decision to be an organ donor today!
Then register at your local Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) office,
at RegisterMe.org
or if you have an iPhone, within your profile for the Health app.
