What is National Donate Life Month (NDLM)? It’s a month to celebrate those who have received transplants, to recognize those who continue to wait, to honor donors and donor families, and to thank registered donors for giving hope.
As nurse patient advocates, we have assisted clients through this transplant process. It is a difficult and extremely stressful time waiting for an organ as one is experiencing significant health decline. Everyone needs to have more awareness of the importance of organ donation to save a life. Here are some statistics you should know about:
In 2020, more than 39,000 transplants brought renewed life to patients and their families and communities (from nearly 12,600 deceased and nearly 5,750 living donors).
More than 100,000 people are waiting for lifesaving organ transplants.
60% of patients awaiting lifesaving transplants are minorities.
Another person is added to the nation’s organ transplant waiting list every 10 minutes.
Sadly, 7,000 people die each year (on average 20 people each day — almost one person each hour) because the organs they need are not donated in time.
85% of patients on the waiting list are waiting for a kidney. The average waiting time for a kidney from a deceased donor is 3 to 5 years. A kidney from a living donor offers patients an alternative to years of dialysis and time on the national transplant waiting list (the living donor’s remaining kidney will increase in size, doing the work of two healthy kidneys).
1% of patients waiting are in need of a liver. Living donation of part of the liver can help these patients (the remaining portion of the donor liver will regenerate and regain full function).
More than one-third of all deceased donors are age 50 or older; 7% are age 65 or older.
Each year, there are approximately 58,000 tissue donors and more than 2.5 million tissue transplants; the surgical need for donated tissue is steadily rising.
A single tissue donor can help more than 75 people.
More than 66,000 corneas were provided for sight-restoring transplants in 2020.
More than 165 million people are registered organ, eye, and tissue donors.
COVID-19 has caused a whole new population of candidates for organ transplants, which is noteworthy. Also, it is a reminder that there is always a big need for organ donors. The United Network for Organ Sharing has released that there have been nearly 60 transplants performed on patients that had COVID-19 related organ disease, as of March 31, 2021. There are another 27 on wait lists for a transplant. Some believe this is just the beginning and that this could be a completely new category of transplant patients. There are tens of thousands of patients who have developed severe, chronic lung disease resulting from COVID-19.
As nurse advocates in New Jersey, we have been involved with the NJ Sharing Network, the New Providence-based nonprofit, federally designated organization responsible for the recovery of organs and tissue donations in the state. They recently announced that the number of organ donors reached an all-time high in 2020. They were 222 NJ residents who gave this “gift of life” in 2020, which is an 8% increase over last year’s record. This record was accomplished despite all of the challenges and restrictions of the pandemic.
We have assisted clients navigate this transplant journey as their private advocate. There is so much involved for both the patient and their support system. Once you see the suffering that these patients experience on the “wait list”, it makes it a much easier decision to be an organ donor.
Our hats go off to all those who have made that “gift of life” and to their families and loved ones who supported them through this journey.
To learn more about organ, eye, tissue, and living donation, visit https://www.donatelife.net/
Consider registering as an organ donor to save and heal lives at https://registerme.org/. If you would like to see frequently asked questions regarding organ donation and transplants check out this site https://bit.ly/3dQOAuA.