April is Donate Life Month
By Governor Dave Heineman
Dear Fellow Nebraskans:
Nebraskans have a strong history of willingness to help a neighbor in need. That willingness was underscored this week with the announcement of two significant milestones in our state. First, the Department of Motor Vehicles reported that more than 50 percent of the licensed drivers in Nebraska are now registered organ donors. Second, the Nebraska Organ Recovery System received organs from its 1,000th donor.
These are more than statistics. These numbers represent Nebraskans that are willing to save and improve the lives of others through a selfless act. These milestones demonstrate that when Nebraskans become aware of a need, we respond generously.
This week, I declared April as Donate Life Month. Part of a national effort, this is a time to raise awareness of the success of transplantation, to honor donors who make transplants possible and to encourage Nebraskans to sign up on the Nebraska Organ and Tissue Donor Registry.
Last year, more than 28,000 lives were saved through organ transplants in the United States, including 288 in Nebraska. One of these individuals was Nebraska’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Joann Schaefer.
When you consider that the people needing donations were all people suffering from end-stage organ failure and literally on the brink of death, it becomes clear that organ donors are indeed true heroes. Moreover, one organ donor can save up to eight lives.
In addition, nearly 39,000 patients had their sight restored last year through cornea transplants, enabling recipients to see the faces of their children and grandchildren. A cornea donor can give sight to two people. These are the lives of our parents, children, friends, and neighbors.
More than 1 million tissue transplants are done each year, replacing heart valves in children with congenital heart defects, exchanging cancerous bone with healthy bone, repairing sports injuries with donor ligaments and tendons. In fact, one tissue donor can help more than 50 people.
Despite all the advances in medicine, none of these transplants could take place without the generosity of organ, eye and tissue donors.
I want to say a special “thank you” to all the donor families in Nebraska, who have chosen to show compassion for others through donation. Your loved ones have restored health to grateful recipients and prevented other families from experiencing the same painful loss.
Last year in Nebraska, there were 33 organ donors, 131 tissue donors and 168 cornea donors. Fifty-two living donors gave a kidney, part of a lung or liver to relatives, friends, coworkers and even, sometimes, to strangers in need.
However, there are currently not enough donated organs for everyone who needs them. An average of 18 Americans die every day while waiting, simply because the organ needed did not become available in time.
Currently, more than 100,000 people in the U.S. are on the waiting list for a life-saving organ transplant, and on average, 133 people are added to that list each day. That’s about one every 11 minutes. Over 430 of those patients are on the Nebraska waiting list and there is a good chance someone you care about is included in those numbers.
If you have a red heart icon on your Nebraska driver’s license or State ID, you are already in the Nebraska Organ and Tissue Donor Registry. If not, you can access more information or register through the Nebraska Organ and Tissue Donor Registry website, www.nedonation.org, or by calling 1-800-718-LIFE.
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