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National Donate Life Month 2024

Apr 5 2:15pm | Kristin Eggebraaten | @keggebraaten | Comments (3)

April is National Donate Life Month. We celebrate this month to honor those that

have donated and to raise awareness about organ donation and encourage people to register as an organ, eye and tissue donor.

From Donate Life America, the theme for 2024 Donate Life Month is the night sky, stars and the universe. Look up to the night sky and the billions of stars that make up the universe. Stars remind us that even in the darkest night, there is light.

Here are some ways for you to celebrate this year:

  • April 12th is Blue & Green day. Find your blue and green attire and take a selfie, post to social media, share statistics and pictures! You can share your ideas and photos with us on Facebook at Transplantation at Mayo Clinic.
  • Say thank you to your care team, your donor, your donor family and your caregivers who have been a part of your transplant journey. Make them a card or use a simple text, call or FaceTime to share your gratitude!
  • Share your story on social media if you are comfortable doing so. On Facebook, you can tag Donate Life America (@DonateLife) and Transplantation at Mayo Clinic (@MayoClinicTransplant) or use #DonateLife.
  • Change your photos online – cover photos and profile pictures on social media or print materials for hanging at your house or business are available with the materials provided on the Donate Life webpage.  (instructions and assets are found under social media section at the bottom of the page).

There were more than 46,000 transplants performed in 2023 in the United States, an 8.9% increase over 2022. According to UNOS, the organs were distributed as follows:

  • More than 16,000 individuals became deceased organ donors
  • More than 6,000 individuals became living organ donors
  • More than 10,000 Black patients received transplants
  • More than 27,000 kidney transplants were performed
  • More than 10,000 liver transplants were performed
  • More than 4,000 heart transplants were performed
  • More than 3,000 lung transplants were performed

While this is something to celebrate and appreciate, the need for organ donation is still critical.

One donor can impact up to 85 lives, 75 lives from tissue donation, 8 lives from solid organ and 2 lives from cornea donation. You can register to become an organ donor from your home. If you know someone interested in registering, share this with them. If you’ve registered with your driver’s license office, you can still sign up for the registry with this link.

Do you have any suggestions on how to 'celebrate' National Donate Life Month this year? Share them below!

HELPFUL LINKS

1 Reaction

Interested in more newsfeed posts like this? Go to the Transplant blog.

itsme623 | @itsme623 | Apr 6 10:55am

I'm wondering if anyone has researched whole body donation. It is something I think I want to do, but I want to make sure that my donation is used for the best medical purposes possible. I am registered with the National Tissue Network, but there is no guarantee that they will use what you donate. I am a 72 year-old female who has kind of been through the ringer medically. LOL

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2 replies
Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Apr 6 11:41am
In reply to @itsme623 "I'm wondering if anyone has researched whole body donation. It is something I think I want..." + (show)
@itsme623

I'm wondering if anyone has researched whole body donation. It is something I think I want to do, but I want to make sure that my donation is used for the best medical purposes possible. I am registered with the National Tissue Network, but there is no guarantee that they will use what you donate. I am a 72 year-old female who has kind of been through the ringer medically. LOL

Jump to this post

@itsme623, here's more information from Mayo Clinic
- Body donation at Mayo Clinic https://www.mayoclinic.org/body-donation/overview

Body donation to academic medical centers provides many benefits to medical education, clinical practice and research. Body donations are greatly appreciated by all learners, scientists and healthcare professionals. The need is great, and each gift is valued and honored. Mayo Clinic students and staff treat each donation with the utmost respect and dignity.

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Mentor
Ginger, Volunteer Mentor | @gingerw | Apr 6 4:55pm
In reply to @itsme623 "I'm wondering if anyone has researched whole body donation. It is something I think I want..." + (show)
@itsme623

I'm wondering if anyone has researched whole body donation. It is something I think I want to do, but I want to make sure that my donation is used for the best medical purposes possible. I am registered with the National Tissue Network, but there is no guarantee that they will use what you donate. I am a 72 year-old female who has kind of been through the ringer medically. LOL

Jump to this post

@itsme623 I have researched whole body donation. While living in southern California, I had investigated donating my body to UCLA. But they would not accept a donation that had been used to harvest any organ. You see, I am also an organ and tissue donor. However, I found researchforlife.org will work with someone who is a organ/tissue donor, and accept whole body after donation of tissues! You might want to check them out.

All my advanced care decisions have been made, and documented, since 2015. With the new knowledge I now have, I may need to revisit everything!
Ginger

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