National Donate Life Month spotlights need for organs, donors who save lives

National Donate Life Month in April provides an opportunity to remind people about the tremendous need for organs from living and deceased donors. It’s also the perfect time to honor those who have given the gift of life. 

Nationwide, more than 106,000 people are on the waiting list for organs, including kidneys, livers, lungs, hearts and others, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing. In Connecticut, 1,134 candidates, including 731 Yale New Haven Hospital patients, are waiting.

There is good news. In 2021, 41,355 organs were transplanted nationally. Yale New Haven Transplantation Center (YNHTC) surgeons transplanted 183 organs, including 29 from living organ donors. One deceased organ donor can save up to eight lives.

Living donors are helping to save lives by giving a kidney or part of a liver. Yale New Haven Hospital’s Center for Living Organ Donors helps connect living donors with patients needing liver and kidney transplants. The program provides a wide spectrum of care throughout the donation process and afterward, with lifetime medical and social monitoring related to donation. 

To learn more about becoming an organ donor, visit www.ynhh.org/organdonation.