National Organ Donor Day and Its Importance
Organ Donation Statistics
- According to the studies from the organdonor.gov
- As of August 2017, 116,000+ men, women and children are in the organ waiting list.
- In the year 2016, it is estimated that around 33,611 transplants were performed successfully.
- Per day minimum of 20 people dies without getting donors.
- Even though a majority of the US citizens support organ donation only 54% of them are actually signed up as donors.
What should be done to donate Organs and save more lives?
Get into the nearby hospital or the community health center and enroll yourself for organ donation. Organs from one donor can save up to 8 lives. You can help the people in your family and community to enroll for organ donation to become a registered donor.
What organs can be donated?
- All the eight vital organs which include heart, kidneys (2), pancreas, lungs (2), liver, and intestines can be donated. Hands and faces will also be coming into the list on the nearby days.
- Tissue donation includes Cornea, skin, heart valves, bone, blood vessels and connective tissues.
- Besides the organs and tissues listed above bone marrow and stem cells, umbilical cord blood, peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) can also be donated.
Who can become an organ donor?
From newborns to senior citizens anyone can be organ donors. Even though there are no age limitations to become a registered donor, in the USA, the people under the age of 18 should get an authorization from their parent or guardian. Organ donation depends only on the condition of your organs and physical fitness.
You can still donate organs, even if you are not a citizen of the USA. Organs will be given to the patients based on the medical demands and not on the citizenship.
Even with any illness you can donate. But people suffering from HIV, Jaundice, Cancer or any other organ infection won’t be able to donate their organs or tissues. If you are wanting to donate your entire body, contact the nearest medical organization and get to know the possibilities.
Spread the knowledge and create awareness:
Talk to your family and friends about this, make them understand the seriousness of it. Making a documentary on this topic or organizing an event may help people know about it and the ways they can help to save a life.
Get the discussion out on social media, when hashtags related to organ donation gets trending, obviously people may start to search and learn about it. #NationalDonorDay, #Imadonor are some samples.
Join the organdonor.gov community on Facebook or Follow HRSA (@HRSAgov) on Twitter and share your experiences, and know the news and statistics about donation. Also, you can download the social media graphics and share that on your own social media channels to create an awareness among the people in your group.
Conclusion:
Many numbers of organizations and volunteers are willing to help. This is the right time to step forward and enroll yourself and your family members as registered donors.
