April is National Donate Life Month which attempts to raise awareness about the life-saving impact of organ donation.
The first successful solid organ transplant was a kidney transplant performed by Doctor E. Murray at Peter Bent Brigham in 1954. A kidney was donated by Ronald Herrick to his twin brother, Richard, who suffered from chronic kidney failure.
In the beginning, transplants were often performed between siblings or other biological relatives. It was believed that this would help reduce the likelihood of rejection. Now, organ transplants can occur between complete strangers, living and deceased.
Although transplantation is currently limited to solid organs and tissue, there are hopes that scientific advancement will allow more complex procedures, like full face transplants, to be possible. Currently, the ability to recover organs is often limited by the fact that vital organs need to have access to oxygen and do not receive that when natural death occurs. As a result, people who die naturally are not able to donate their organs which is a large restriction for potential donors.
Here are some facts about organ donation:
–Organ donation can save up to 8 lives and impact an infinite number of people
–Every 9 minutes, another person who needs a transplant is added to the national waiting list
–17 people on the waiting list die every day because of a lack of organs
–People of all ages should consider themselves potential donors
–Only about 3 in 1,000 people can actually become donors when they pass
–Donors are needed from all races and ethnic groups
–All major religions encourage organ donation
–Every day around 106,000 people are waiting for an organ transplant
Registering to be an organ donor can be completed when receiving a license or ID. Both of these options just require checking the box on paperwork to agree to deceased organ donation. Registration can also be completed on registerme.org or in the iPhone health app under “Register as an Organ Donor.”
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