This April marks the 11th annual National Donate Life Month, a celebration commemorating those who have given the gift of life through organ, eye and tissue donation. For those whose lives have been touched by donation and transplantation, National Donate Life Month provides a chance to share their story to encourage more people to register as donors.
There are now 112 million registered donors in the United States, more than 5 million from the state of Texas. Everyday across the country, 75 people are saved through donation.
Even so, the number of people in need of transplants continues to outpace the supply of donated organs. Today, more than 120,000 men, women and children across the United States are waiting for a lifesaving transplant and nearly 12,000 of those are from Texas. Countless more are awaiting the gift of tissue and others wait for corneal donations. Each day, 18 people die because the organ they needed was not donated in time.
