(3/23/12) – McLeod Health employees and medical staff encourage community members to consider organ donation. April is National Donate Life Month.

Every day new people join the national organ transplant waiting list, and this week more than 100 of them will die because not enough organs are available for transplant. Thousands of others whose lives would benefit from the gift of organ, eye, and tissue donations continue to wait and hope.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, the national Donor Registration Campaign brings together National Partners, local and regional organ, eye, and tissue donation organizations, and hospitals throughout the nation to educate employees and hospital communities on the importance of organ, eye, and tissue donation. The goal of the campaign is to register 300,000 new registered organ donors by April 30, 2012.

The need is real. Each day, 78 Americans receive life-saving organ transplants and thousands more benefit from cornea and tissue transplants. These extraordinary gifts have been generously donated by ordinary people of all ages and backgrounds who took just a few minutes in a busy day to indicate their decisions to become organ and tissue donors. But broader awareness of the need for organ, eye, and tissue donation is crucial. There are more than 111,000 people awaiting an organ transplant in the United States.

Here are some facts about organ, tissue, and eye donation:
• One organ donor can save as many as eight lives and improve many more through eye and tissue donation.
• Organ transplants have been successfully saving lives for more than 50 years.
• Cornea transplants have been successfully restoring sight for more than 100 years.
• Donated tissues such as skin, bone, and heart valves can dramatically improve the quality of life for recipients, and even save lives.
• Anyone can sign up to be a potential donor regardless of age, race, or medical history.
• More than 90 million people in the United States have registered their decision to donate.

Give the gift of life. Sign up today to become an organ, eye, and tissue donor. To learn more about donation and to register your decision to be a donor, please visit www.organdonor.gov