CONSIDER THESE STAGGERING FACTS ABOUT 2007...
There are 13 million people in the greater New York metropolitan area, the region served by the New York Organ Donor Network.
In 2007, a year in which there was a record number of organ donors, there were still only 322 deceased organ donors...a 58% consent rate. The nationwide consent rate is 68%.*
Last year, 42% of those families approached for organ donation said “no.” With such a small pool of donors, any “yes” is a huge “yes.” Any “no” is a devastating “no.”
THERE IS A CRITICAL NEED FOR ORGAN, EYE AND TISSUE DONORS THROUGHOUT THE NATION
In the United States, 100,000 men, women and children are waiting for organs for transplantation (kidneys, livers, hearts, lungs, pancreas and intestines).
8,500 of these are in New York State.
7,000 of them live right here, in the greater New York metropolitan area (the area served by the New York Organ Donor Network).
Thousands more need eyes and corneas as well as tissues such as heart-valves, skin and bone.
On average, 18 people die every day while waiting for organs in the United States because no donors could be found for them. This means that each year, more than 6,500 people die in the United States waiting for organ transplants.
Each year, more than 6,500 people die in the United States waiting for organ transplants.
Over the past 10 years, more than 70,000 people have died in the United States waiting for lifesaving transplants, because of the dire organ shortage. Looked at another way, tragically, that’s enough people to fill an entire football stadium.
Every 13 minutes, a new name is added to the national waiting list for organs in the United States.
YOU HAVE THE POWER TO SAVE MANY LIVES.
Transplantation gives hope to thousands of people with organ failure. One organ donor can save up to eight lives. A deceased donor can give kidneys, pancreas, liver, lungs, heart and intestinal organs. A living donor can give a kidney, or a portion of the liver, lung, intestine, or pancreas.
One tissue donor can save or improve the quality of life for up to 50 people. For example, donors can help others by restoring eyesight, helping to fight infections in burn patients, providing a heart valve to a desperately ill patient, and by preventing the loss of mobility and disability.
You have the power to celebrate your life by deciding to share your life with others. This is what you can do right now:
Enroll in the New York State Donate Life Registry.
You have the option of telling your next of kin so that in the event of your death, they know in advance about your enrollment. But remember, by signing the Donate Life Registry, you are giving legal consent to donation. It is your decision and it can’t be overruled.
Download the New York State Donate Life Registry (PDF). Just think about it. Your legally binding decision to be a donor is the most generous and meaningful gift you can ever give.
[*Source: HRSA/ National Breakthrough Collaborative.]
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