Organ and tissue donations are something that virtually anyone can do. Sharing the gift of life is sometimes a decision we don’t want to think about because it makes us face our own mortality, but it is still a decision that must be made. With over 100,000 people on the organ transplant waiting list at any given time, donations can save up to 8 lives. That’s a remarkable legacy to leave if something unfortunate happens.
Facts About Organ and Tissue Donations
1. The number of people who die every day because they are waiting for a transplant: 21.
2. Someone is added to the transplant waiting list every 10 minutes.
3. In 2013, 28,954 people received organ transplants.
4. People in the 50-64 age demographic receive the most transplants on average ever year, with 12,674 organs received in 2013.
5. 92% of the people who receive a kidney from a living donor are still living after 5 years.
6. 81.3% of liver transplant recipients from a living donor are still surviving after 5 years.
7. In 2013, 57% of all deceased donors were Caucasian, 22% were African American, 15% Hispanic/Latino and 6% Asian, and Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander.
8. There are about 2.5 million unexpected deaths in the United States every year, each one of them potentially a viable source for organ donation.
9. More than 120 million people in the US are signed up to be an organ donor right now.
10. One tissue donor can change and enhance the lives of more than 50 people.
11. More than 1 million people benefit from tissue transplants each year.
12. 90% of American adults approve of donation as a viable, life-giving practice.
13. 98% of all adults have heard about organ donation and 86% have heard of tissue donation.
14. In 2013, more than 47,000 corneas were transplanted.
15. The percentage of people on the transplant waiting list who will die without being able to receive a needed organ: 7%.
16. Over 617,000 transplants have occurred in the U.S. since 1988.
17. More than 6,000 living donations occur each year.
18. 1 in 4 living donors is not a biological relative of the person receiving the transplant.
19. The buying and selling of human organs is not allowed for transplants in America, but is allowed for research purposes.
20. 61.4% of living donors are women.
21. People in the 35-49 age demographic are the most likely to be living donors, accounting for over 40% of the organ and tissue donations in 2013.
22. Nearly 3,000 new patients are added to the kidney waiting list each month.
23. African Americans make up 12% of the US East Coast’s overall population, but represent 43% of patients on the kidney transplant waiting list.
24. Hispanics represent 19% of patients on the national transplant waiting list, most waiting for kidneys.
25. Approximately 56% of all those awaiting organ transplants are minorities.
26. Only 1 in 3 Americans know how to become an organ donor in their state.
27. Up to 12,000 people die every year and are considered medically suitable to provide an organ donation, but only 50% of them are actually registered to donate organs.
28. Since the first cord blood stem cell transplant in 1988, more than 2,000 have been done worldwide.
29. It costs about $60 for someone to be tested to determine the typing of blood marrow, a cost that is tax deductible if a government program isn’t available to finance the cost.
30. The odds of finding a blood marrow match: 1 in 20,000.
31. Donated hearts are allocated to patients based on medical urgency, blood type compatibility, size match and waiting list time.
32. A donated heart can only remain outside of the body for 4 hours before it must be transplanted.
33. 33% of the people on the kidney organ transplant waiting list will wait a minimum of 3 years to receive their transplant.
34. Hepatitis C is the most common cause of liver failure leading to liver transplantation.
35. More than 1,700 patients await lung transplants in the U.S.
36. Nearly 10% of the patients currently waiting for liver transplants are young people under 18 years of age.
37. It is estimated that about 35% of potential donors never become donors because family members refuse to give consent.
Not everyone is on-board with organ and tissue donations. Urban myths of doctors allowing life support measures to fail so that organs can be harvested dominate some sectors of society. This needlessly prevents people from joining organ tissue donation lists, including live donation lists where an individual can continue living a fulfilling life by donating certain organs, portions of organs, or tissues to support the life of another.
Anyone Can Be an Organ Donor
Every major religion that is practiced in the world today supports organ donation. There are rarely any health obstacles in the way that prevent people from becoming donors. Even if a listed organ donor is hospitalized, they have a right to the best care possible. Organ donation is only a consideration after a patient has died.
Organ donors are needed from all races and ethnic groups. Although the donation percentages in the US break down pretty evenly along demographic lines, 2 out of 3 Americans are not organ donors. Anyone from a newborn to someone 65 years of age can provide an organ donation according to current medical practices. If you want to be an organ donor, you have to do more than sign the back of your driver’s license. You must officially sign register as an organ donor.
What Can Be Done To Change These Statistics?
It all starts with you. If you are medically suitable to donate organs and tissues, then consider giving the gift of life if something tragic should happen. Think about being tested so that you can join living donor lists for kidneys, tissues, or even bone marrow. Organ donations cost nothing to the family of the donor or their estate and for those who are concerned about an open casket funeral, there are rarely outward signs that an organ or tissue donation has occurred.
Human life is precious. People are dying because they are waiting for a miracle that never arrives. Sometimes a donation can help someone fight off a sickness, such as leukemia, and that only requires an hour or two in an emergency room to provide a donation. By joining the organ donor registry, you might just be that miracle that someone needs, even if that miracle is born from a tragedy.