United States

• More than 100,000 people need life-saving organ transplants in the United States.¹ [Solid organs: Hearts, kidneys, pancreases, lungs, livers and intestines.]



• Despite the critical need for organ donors, there were just 7,983 deceased organ donors in the United States in 2008.



• Each day, an average of 18 people die because of the shortage of organ donors.



• Every 11 minutes, a new name is added to the national organ transplant waiting list.



• Each year, more than one million people need life-saving and life-improving tissues, whole eyes and corneas.² [Tissues: Heart valves, cardiovascular tissue, bone and soft musculoskeletal tissue, and skin.]

New York

• In New York State, more than 9,300 people need life-saving organ transplants, of which approximately 7,500 people are listed in the greater New York metropolitan area, the region served by the New York Organ Donor Network.³



• Yet in 2008, there were just 373 deceased organ donors in New York State, 251 of them in the greater New York metropolitan area.

HOW TO REGISTER TO BE AN ORGAN, EYE AND TISSUE DONOR IN NEW YORK:

1. Enroll in the New York State Donate Life Registry at www.SaveLivesNewYork.org.
   [A confidential database of legal consent administered by New York State Dept. of Health.]



2. Inform your family that you have given your legally binding consent to be a donor.

SAVE LIVES NEW YORK! One organ donor can save up to eight lives.
One tissue and eye donor can save or improve the lives of up to 50 people.

¹ All data provided by the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) except where other sources are cited.

² Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation (MTF)

³ The New York Organ Donor Network's Donation Service Area (DSA) covers Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Staten Island, Long Island, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Westchester (all in New York State), and Pike County, PA. The DSA is designated by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Download a PDF version of The Critical Need for Organ, Eye and Tissue Donors, and How to Register to Be a Donor in New York