April is National Donate Life Month

Established by Donate Life America and its partners in 2003, National Donate Life Month works to encourage Americans to register as organ, eye and tissue donors and to honor those who have saved lives through the gift of donation.

The need for organ, eye and tissue donation is ongoing, which is why throughout April there are spotlighted days to bring awareness to several areas of organ donation. Today, April 16th, 2021, is National Blue and Green Day, the capstone day of Blue & Green Spirit Week where the public and healthcare workers are encouraged to wear blue and green in support of Donate Life.

“Awareness campaigns like National Donate Life Month are crucial for those waiting to receive an organ, eye or tissue donation,” says Amna Ilahe, MD, board certified nephrologist on the medical staff of The Transplant Institute at Methodist Dallas Medical Center. “There are more than 100,000 people currently on the waiting list, with another person being added about every 10 minutes. Every day 20 people die because the organ they need is not donated in time.”

The numbers don’t lie

According to Donate Life America, 95 percent of Americans are in favor of being a donor, but only 58 percent are registered, which is the driving force behind National Donate Life Month. Additional numbers only increase the need for awareness:

• More than 90,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for a kidney
• 3 to 5 years is the average waiting time for a kidney*
• 14,000 people are waiting for a donor liver
• 7,000 deaths occur every year in the U.S. because organs are not donated in time
• Donated organs can save up to 8 lives
• Donated corneas can restore sight for 2 people
• Donated tissue can heal the lives of 75 people

*from a deceased donor

Showing support

The Transplant Institute at Methodist Dallas has been restoring hope in transplant patients for more than 30 years by accomplishing many transplant firsts and consistently exceeding national success rates. “The transplant team has long maintained a deep desire for organ donation awareness to grow,” says Lori Kautzman, MD, board certified hepatobiliary and abdominal transplant surgeon on the medical staff at The Transplant Institute. “Many of our patient’s lives depend on organ donation. Highlighting this need is an honor and a duty that we fully embrace. Some of the ways we do this is by publishing patient stories, partnering with nonprofit organizations to spread awareness and participating in events like today’s National Blue and Green Day.”

Register Today to Become a Donor