Inspiring Others to Consider Organ Donation
You have the power to inspire family and friends to become registered organ donors and help save lives. Many people think about signing up, but it often takes something—or someone—to really move them to take action. By sharing your story, you can help make a difference in the availability of donor organs.
Organ Donation Facts
- 18 people die every day waiting for a transplant.
- Approximately 500 people are added to the national waiting list every month.
- One deceased donor can potentially provide: 1 heart or 2 heart valves, 2 lungs, 2 kidneys, 1 liver, 1 pancreas, 2 hip joints, 2 corneas, bones, connective tissues, skin, and blood vessels.
- Donation is a sterile surgical procedure. Open-casket funerals are not affected by donation.
- Organs are allocated based on the urgency of medical need, not according to a patient's financial, political, social, or celebrity status. The length of time it takes to receive a transplant is based on medical criteria like blood type, height and weight, and time spent waiting. The most important factor that affects length of time waiting is a lack of organ donors.
- Only increased medical need can "move" someone higher on the national waiting list for organs. Rich and famous people have to wait like everyone else.
- Donation is consistent with the life-preserving traditions of most major religions.
- Donation is not discussed until all efforts to save a life have failed. If someone is sick, injured and/or admitted to a hospital, the first priority is to save that person's life. If all possible efforts to save a patient's life have failed, and two physicians have tested the patient and certified that death has occurred, a family is then asked about giving the gift of life through organ and tissue donation.
Get Involved
Find out how you can become a volunteer Donate Life Ambassador at community events in Northern and Central California or read about our living donor program at Stanford.