Jody Found a Kidney

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• There is a severe shortage of organ donors in this country.  As of August 2010, there are more than 108,000 patients on the national waiting list in need of an organ transplant. 10,000 of them are Texans.
  
  
• More than half of those awaiting a transplant in the U.S. are minorities.
  
  
• Register your wishes at www.donatelifetexas.org  and please inform your family of your decision to donate so they can carry out your wishes when the time comes.
  
  
• A new name is added to the United Network for Organ Sharing waiting list every 16 minutes.
  
  
• More than 6,500 of the patients on the national waiting list died last year (about 18 patients per day) without ever receiving their transplant because there are not enough organs to transplant. 
  
  
• Of the 2.3 million people who die in the U.S. every year, less than three percent are eligible to be organ donors.  Almost everyone, however, can be a tissue donor. 
  
  
• Transplant success rates increase when organs are matched between members of the same ethnic and racial group. A patient is less likely to reject a kidney if it is donated by an individual who is genetically similar. Therefore, a lack of organs donated by minorities can contribute to death and longer waiting periods for transplants for minorities.
  
  
• Donation does not disfigure the body or prevent an open casket funeral.
  
  
• Donated organs are removed in a sterile, surgical procedure, similar to open heart surgery, in a hospital operating room by skilled surgeons.
  
  
• Organ and tissue donation is considered only after all efforts to save the patient’s life have been exhausted and death has been legally declared.
  
  
• Organ recovery coordinators will always explain the donation options to the family before requesting permission from the next of kin to recover the organs for transplantation. 
  
  
• There is no major religion in the U.S. that is opposed to organ and tissue donation.  In fact, many religions endorse organ and tissue donation as an act of charity.
  
  
• Few people are too old or too young to donate.  Currently there are no age limits for donors.  At the time of your death, medical professionals will determine whether your organs are transplantable. 
  
  
• Organs that can be transplanted are the heart, kidneys, pancreas, lungs, liver and intestine.
  
  
• The organ allocation system is blind to wealth, celebrity and social status.  Donated organs are placed in recipients based on best medical match and most critical need. 
  
  
• No costs directly related to organ or tissue donation are passed on to the donor’s family or estate.
  

Texas Organ Sharing Alliance
www.txorgansharing.org
512.459.4848, 1.866.685.0277