It’s National Donor Day- Give More Than Chocolates and Save a Life

It’s National Donor Day- Give More Than Chocolates and Save a Life

February 14th is the perfect time for giving chocolates, flowers and a free trip to the spa. But what about a lung?

It’s National Donor Day across the country. At present nearly 120,000 patients are on the waiting list to receive a lifesaving organ transplant. According to the Donor Alliance, countless others are in need of cornea, tissue, bone marrow, blood and platelet donation.

You can make a difference. How? By signing your donor card. Amazingly, just one donor can save up to eight lives by donating an organ like a heart or lung, and more than 75 lives can be saved or healed through a single eye or tissue donation.

Related: British Girl Donates Organs to a Whopping 8 Recipients

It’s important to know that if you decide to be a donor, your decision takes priority over the wishes of your family at the time of death. Talk with your friends and family about what your wishes are, so that they can be honored and help someone truly in need.

There are some truly inspiring stories of how organ donation has changed lives and saved them.

From Destiny, a baby in dire need of a liver transplant who is now a thriving teenager, to Skylar who was born with a serious heart-defect and had a life-saving transplant at 6 days old, people from all walks of life have benefited and been able to live on.

National Donor Day was originally designated in 1998 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Saturn Corporation and its United Auto Workers to raise awareness for organ, eye, tissue, marrow, platelet and blood donation.

Click here to learn more about organ donation and how to become a donor and save a life.

Photo credits: Jacob_09/Shutterstock.com

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