THE BASIC FACTS

• On average seventeen people die everyday in the U.S. while awaiting a lifesaving organ transplant."
• The total number of patients waiting for an organ transplant today numbers more than 93,000 (21% of them are Californians). More than one-third of them will die before a donor can be found.
• The waiting list for organ transplants is growing at the rate of 1,000 per month. Another name is added to the waiting list every 13 minutes.
• In the GSDS area, about 550 people are on the waiting list, yet annually only 50 - 70 people donate one or more organs upon death.
• A total of 27,035 organ transplants were performed in the United States during 2004.
• Yet in 2004, there were only 7,150 people who donated one or more organs upon death. There were another 7,004 living organ donors.
• In 2004, 7,060 Americans - one every 90 minutes - died while waiting for a transplant.
• The refusal rate among families of potential donors nationwide is around 50 percent. However, a recent Gallup poll found 93% of respondents willing to donate a deceased family member's organs if he or she had expressed this wish prior to death. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO SHARE YOUR DECISION WITH YOUR FAMILY!!! Your next-of-kin will be consulted before donation takes place. A discussion with your family now will mean a life-affirming decision later. Talk to your family about giving life.
• Transplantation is no longer considered experimental. It is a desired treatment for thousands with end-stage organ disease. Each year, approximately 900,000 Americans receive tissue transplants and nearly 25,000 receive organ transplants.
• In recent years, medical breakthroughs have greatly improved the success rate for transplantation... it now generally runs in excess of 80% for transplants overall.
• Currently, only about 6,000 of the approximately 15,000 medically suitable potential donors actually donate each year. Only about one third of the donation potential is being realized.
• Under ideal conditions, one donor can supply as many as 8 organs (heart, 2 lungs, liver, pancreas, 2 kidneys, and intestine). At today's average recovery rate, the current pool of potential donors could meet the needs of up to 50,000 people per year.

Also, to dispel some myths and misconceptions:

• Becoming a donor will not affect the quality of your medical care. Organ recovery takes place only after all efforts to save your life have been exhausted, and 2 doctors have declared you legally brain dead. The donor family pays none of the costs associated with donation. If you are a donor, you can have an open casket funeral.

• Transplants are accessible and available to everyone. Celebrity status and wealth do not enter into the equation. Organs are allocated according to medical criteria (urgency of medical need, blood/tissue type, height and weight).
• All major religions support or permit donation and consider it a gift, an act of charity.

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