National Donate Life Month (NDLM) was established by Donate Life America and its partnering organizations in 2003. Celebrated in April each year, Donate Life Month features an entire month of local, regional and national activities to help encourage Americans to register as organ, eye and tissue donors and to celebrate those that have saved lives through the gift of donation.

National Donate Life Month 2019: Life is a beautiful ride

For the 2019 National Donate Life Month theme, Donate Life America was inspired by bicycles and the phrase “Life is a beautiful ride.” Like the donation and transplantation journey, a bicycle serves as a symbol of progress, renewal and the moving circle of life.

Bicycles come in all styles, shapes and sizes, but each is comprised of the same components, essential to supporting the rider and converting their energy into motion. Similarly, organ, eye and tissue donation offers many ways to give hope, support and strength to patients waiting, recipients and donor families. We each carry the potential to help make LIFE a beautiful ride for ourselves, and then for others, by registering as a donor, considering living donation, being a caregiver and championing the cause.

This National Donate Life Month, we ask you to consider your role in this lifesaving and healing journey, and how you can inspire others to provide hope through donor registration and living donation.

Celebrating In Indiana

• Indiana Donor Network and Donate Life Indiana are encouraging hospitals throughout the state to be actively involved with National Donate Life Month.
• April 12 is Blue and Green Day. Organizations and businesses will show their support for donation and transplantation by proudly displaying the colors blue and green. Indiana Donor Network will also dye the Indianapolis Canal blue on this day.
• National Donate Life Month is the perfect time to champion the cause of donation on social media. Indiana Donor Network and Donate Life Indiana will use the following social media hashtags in April: #DonateLifeIN  #NDLM  #IndianaDonorNetwork

National Donation and Transplantation Statistics

• In 2018, more than 36,500 transplants brought renewed life to patients and their families and communities (from more than 10,700 deceased and 6,800 living donors).
• More than 110,000 men, women and children await lifesaving organ transplants.
• Nearly 60% of patients awaiting lifesaving transplants are minorities.
• Another person is added to the nation’s organ transplant waiting list every 10 minutes.
• Sadly, 8,000 people die each year (on average 22 people each day — almost one person each hour) because the organs they need are not donated in time.
• 80% of patients on the waiting list are waiting for a kidney. The average waiting time for a kidney from a deceased donor is 3 to 5 years. A kidney from a living donor offers patients an alternative to years of dialysis and time on the national transplant waiting list (the living donor’s remaining kidney will enlarge, doing the work of two healthy kidneys).
• 12% of patients waiting are in need of a liver. Living donation of part of the liver can help these patients (the remaining portion of the donor liver will regenerate and regain full function).
• Nearly one-third of all deceased donors are age 50 or older; more than 7% are age 65 or older.
• Each year, there are approximately 30,000 tissue donors and more than 1.75 million tissue transplants; the surgical need for donated tissue is steadily rising.
• A single tissue donor can help more than 75 people.
• 48,000 patients have their sight restored through corneal transplants each year.
• More than 145.5 million people, approximately 58% of the U.S. adult population, are registered organ, eye and tissue donors.*
• To register your decision to save and heal lives, visit RegisterMe.org. To learn more about organ, eye, tissue and living donation, visit DonateLife.net.

* Living donation is not included in a donor registration.

Data from the Donate Life America Quarterly Registry Overview Report and the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) as of January 16, 2019.

Indiana Facts

• More than 1,300 Hoosiers are waiting for lifesaving organ transplants. 
• More than 3.7 million Hoosiers are registered to save lives.
• Hoosiers inspired to register their donation decisions can do so at www.IndianaDonorNetwork.org.