As of August 2017, over 116,000 men, women, and children were on the national transplant waiting list. To put this number into perspective, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services estimates that another person is added to the transplant waiting list every 10 minutes. Although the number of people who need life-saving organ transplants keeps growing by the minute, the number of people who are registered and die in a way that allows for organ donation is severely limited—only three in every 1,000 people. Despite the transplant list’s rapid growth, 20 people each day pass away waiting for an organ transplant.
The good news is, we can save lives by becoming registered organ donors. One organ donor can save up to eight lives. The same donor can save or improve the lives of up to 50 people by donating tissues and eyes. While being an organ donor is highly supported by adult Americans—95 percent—only 54 percent are signed up as donors.
To increase organ donation awareness and encourage people to become donors, the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania teamed with the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the Center for Organ Recovery & Education, and the Gift of Life Donor Program to create the Pennsylvania Donate Life Hospital Challenge. To participate in the challenge, Pennsylvania hospitals and health systems host organ donation awareness and designation activities in their communities, earning points on a scorecard. Total point count determines the hospitals who rank titanium, platinum, gold, silver, and bronze.
In 2017, nearly 100 hospitals and health systems participated in the Pennsylvania Donate Life Hospital Challenge, with UPMC and Geisinger health systems coming in first place.
“Pennsylvania Donate Life Hospital Challenge’s friendly competition provides hope to the nearly 8,000 state residents currently waiting for a life-saving transplant,” Secretary of Health and Physician General for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Dr. Rachel Levine said. “On average, 400 Pennsylvanians a year will die waiting for an organ donation. By educating people on the importance of organ, eye, and tissue donation, we can drastically reduce that number and get people the critical transplants they so desperately need.”
The HAP 2019 Donate Life Hospital Challenge will take place from January 1, 2019 to April 30, 2019.
To learn more about organ donation and how you can register to be a donor, go to https://www.organdonor.gov.