April is National Donate Life Month, which serves to bring awareness to the importance of organ donations.

In the United States, there are more than 100,000 people awaiting a life-saving organ transplant on any given day – but only around 40,000 transplants take place per year.

“Being an organ donor is truly heroic,” SOMC’s Amy Fraulini, Director of Critical Care and Heart & Vascular Administrative Services said. “In fact, many people who have chosen to be organ donors have turned tragic events into miracles. Often, as one life comes to an end, someone else is presented with a second chance at life.”

For patients in need of new organs, the decision to be a donor is the difference between life and death. For the donors themselves, it’s also an opportunity to create a living legacy and positively impact others even after they are gone. As an organ, eye, and tissue donor, you can potentially save eight lives through organ donation and heal more than 75 people through tissue donation.

While many organs can only be donated after death, some can even be offered during life. A person can live with only one kidney, for example. It is also possible to donate a portion of your liver, and your liver will grow back to nearly full size – while the donated piece also grows to a functional size inside the recipient.

“Registering to be an organ donor is easy. You can register at your local BMV when you receiving or renewing your drivers license, or you can simply go to lifelineofohio.org,” Fraulini explained. “You can also register by mail with an enrollment brochure that can be picked up at the BMV or found on lifelineofohio.org. It takes less than two minutes to register.

“Raising public awareness is crucial to organ donation. Talking to your family about your decision to be an organ donor and educating them about the facts of donations and transplantation are very important steps to ensure your family is comfortable with your decision.”