3 mins read
Donate Life!
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I told you guys in my Leibster Award post that my favorite philanthropy/charity was Donate Life MS, and that I was gonna tell you more about it. Well, here it is!
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Donate Life MS, it is a part of the Mid-South Transplant Foundation, which oversees the donation and receiving of organ donations and transplants. I know what you’re thinking: “Organ donation? Ehh…” Well, actually this is an extremely important cause that people need to learn more about.
According to the Donate Life MS website:
- More than 98,000 Americans are waiting for the organ they need to save their life.
- Every hour and 20 minutes someone dies waiting for a life-saving organ transplant.
- Every 12 minutes a new name is added to the national transplant waiting list.
- Each year, approximately 6,000 people die waiting for an organ transplant
Now think about that for a second, there are almost 100,000 people out there waiting for an organ that determines whether they live to see another day or not. These people need our help!
Now, here are some more facts for you to consider:
- Up to 8 lives can be saved through an organ donation.
- A tissue donation can save 50 – 75 lives.
- The vision of 2 people can be restored through an eye donation.
See how much one person can do by simply donating their organs? Oh,that reminds me….more facts:
- If you decide to become an organ donor, in no way will your care be put in jeopardy if you are ever admitted to a hospital.
- Organs are not the only donations that are accepted. Tissues can also be donated. I will discuss this in more detail later.
- There is no age limit for donations
- An open-casket funeral is possible for donors.
- Donating is free
The organs that can be donated are: the heart, kidneys, pancreas, lungs, liver, and intestines. The tissues that can be donated are: the eyes, skin, bone, heart valves, tendons, and veins. However, you do not have to donate all of these things if you don’t want to. When you register, you can specify which organs and tissues you would like to donate. In addition, you can participate in “directed donation,” which means that you can specify who can get your organs. You do not have to be dead to donate either; if you have a relative who is on the waiting list for an organ or tissue donation and you are a match(meaning compatibility with things like blood type and size), you will be able to donate.
Well there you have it! Just a simple overview of Donate Life! It’s really a wonderful foundation to be a part of and I greatly encourage you to help out with the cause, because it’s really needed. People are dying everyday waiting for help from people like us.
22 thoughts on “Donate Life!”
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I never knew much about organ donation, I can't believe there are that many people waiting for transplants
I was shocked the first time I learned about it too. It's sad, but that's why it's so important to get the word out.
So so important…thanks for sharing!
i have 3 nurse friends and …yeah i hear about people needing organ donations all the time.
Wow, I didn't realize so many people needed organs. Thanks for sharing!
I, too, didn't realize that so many people were in need of organ transplants. Quite eye opening and very important info!!!
Wow, I didn't realize how many people could be helped just through one persons organ donation! I knew there were wait lists for many people and it just saddens me. Thanks for sharing this info!
Totally inspiring! Thanks for sharing all the info! It really is about awareness!
Such great info! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing. Very important information!
such an important issue even here in the UK.
This is such an important issue! I'm an organ donor 🙂
I've always believed organ donation should be an opt-out, not an opt-in, because so many people don't register simply because it takes time to do. Great info!
Love this post! I'm an organ donor, but I didn't know how beneficial that was!
Yea, it's so sad. People keep their phones on them constantly, hoping that they will get a call telling them that they finally found a match for them.
Oh really? I didn't know how crucial it was in other areas.
Glad to hear you are! Don't forget to always check "yes" on the slot for organ donation on your license when you get it removed so they can keep their record of your generous contribution. So many people lose their donor status simply because they forgot to check the box again.
Right, or they're just afraid because they don't know enough about it. Thanks for reading!
Glad to hear you're an organ donor! You really made an major contribution because you have the ability to save many lives!
Thank you for sharing!
This is cool! Thanks for sharing such an amazing thing!
I never knew so much about organ donation. I believe I am an organ donor. Of course, now I feel compelled to go check my driver's license to make sure! lol