April is Donate Life Month, and it’s an opportunity for us to think about how we all can make a difference through the gift of organ donation.
Thousands of Pennsylvanians and others around the country are on the organ transplant waiting list. Donate Life Month highlights the critical need for organ, eye, and tissue donors, and celebrates those who have saved lives through the gift of donation.
This year, Donate Life Month carries the Bee a Donor theme, celebrating “the vital role that bees play in sustaining life.” The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates there are more than 106,000 people on the national transplant waiting list, including 7,000 in Pennsylvania.
If you’re interested in being a donor, here are five reasons you should consider signing up:
- A single donor can save eight lives and enhance 75 more
- 17 people die each day waiting for an organ transplant
- Adults in the United States—and, in some states, people under 18—can register to be an organ donor
- A new person is added to the transplant waiting list every nine minutes
- There’s an enduring need for new donors. During 2021, there were 6,539 living donors and 13,863 deceased donors
During Donate Life Month, help someone in need by signing up to be an organ donor and a marrow and blood donor. Your decision makes you a part of an interconnected, life-sustaining community.