Organ Donation . . .

We all want to be remembered - remembered for who we are, what we've accomplished and the difference we've made. One way to make a difference is to learn the facts about organ and tissue donation. Dispel the myths that prevent those in need from obtaining life-saving and life-enchancing transplants. Share your life. Share your decision. Become educationed about organ and tissue donation. Discuss it with your family. Leave a legacy.

• Approximately 80,000 Americans currently wait for a life-saving organ transplant.
• Fifteen people on the national waiting list die every day, more than 6,000 every year, because there are not enough donated organs.
• Every 13 minutes a new name is added to the national organ waiting lists.
• Only 5,984 families dontated their loved one's organs last year.
• Organ donation increased less than 3% from 1999 to 2000., occuring in only 1% of all deaths in the United States.
• Up to 80 people in need can benefit from one person's decision to be an organ and tissue donor.
• With recent advances in medical technology, many more people than ever before can be donors, even those over 70 years of age.
• People between 18 and 49 make up almost 50% of the national organ waiting list.
• Individuals over the age of 18 can indicate their desire to be an organ and tissue donor by signing a donor card or expressing their wishes to family members. Relatives can also donate a deceased family member's organs and tissue, even those family members under the age of 18.
• 22,827 heart, liver, lung, kidney, pancreas, and intestine transplants were performed in 2000.
• More than 500,000 Americans receive tissue transplants of bone, heart valves, tendons, ligaments, corneas, and skin annually
• 46,000 sight-restoring transplants are performed every year.
• There is no cost to be an organ and tissue donor. Donation is a gift. There are costs associated with the donation process. Most of the expense of transplant is generated by the transplant procedure including hospital costs, surgeons' and doctors' fees, medication, and after care.