20 Facts You Don’t Know About Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation

Living Legacy Foundation Maryland | Mia

Photo: Leave a legacy behind by saying “yes” to organ, eye and tissue donation.

With all the myths and misconceptions about organ, eye and tissue donation, it can be hard to answer the question, “Would you like to be an organ donor?” Organ donation is a positive act which saves and enhances the lives of many. Currently, there are more than 117,000 people nationally waiting for a life-saving organ transplant and more than 2,300 of those live in Maryland. Knowing the facts about donation will help you make an informed decision to potentially give the gift of life. Here is a list of 20 facts you probably didn’t know about organ, eye and tissue donation:

1. No patient is ever too old or too young to give the gift of life. The decision to use a patient’s organs and tissue is based on strict medical criteria, not age.

2. One donor can save up to nine lives, enhance the lives of 50 people through tissue donation and restore sight for up to two people through cornea donation.

3. Every 12 minutes a new patient is added to the waitlist.

4. Becoming a donor costs nothing to the donor or their family.

5. The Maryland Donor Registry, www.donatelifemaryland.org, allows you to specify which organs and tissues you’d like to donate.

Read more

______________________________________________________ 

"You have the power to SAVE lives." 

To register as a donor in California: 

www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org | www.doneVIDAcalifornia.org 

Outside California: 

www.organdonor.gov | www.donatelife.net