Gift of Life leads in lifesaving organ transplants

For the 12th consecutive year, Gift of Life Donor Program coordinated the most lifesaving organs for transplant among all 58 organ procurement organizations in the United States. 

Breaking national records in 2019, Gift of Life’s region led the nation, coordinating lifesaving gifts from 664 organ donors, with donations resulting in 1,865 organs transplanted.

Gift of Life’s annual donation rate, 59 organ donors per million population, and annual transplant rate, 167 transplants per million population, both rank among the highest in the world.

“Every day, our dedicated staff works around the clock to do everything they can to save the lives of the more than 5,000 men, women and children in our region waiting for a lifesaving organ,” said Howard M. Nathan, Gift of Life president and CEO. “They are supported by the most generous community in the country, and the nation’s foremost hospitals and transplant centers. Together, we have created an international model of compassionate care, clinical excellence and community partnership.”

In 2019, Gift of Life also recovered life-enhancing tissue from 2,677 donors, including 1,305 musculoskeletal donors and 2,234 cornea donors. These donations can benefit more than 100,000 people, with bone donations for orthopedic and sports injuries, skin donations to heal burn patients and for reconstructive surgery, heart valve donations to repair life-threatening defects, and corneas to provide the gift of sight.

Approximately 113,000 people are waiting for a lifesaving organ in the U.S., and every day, 20 people die waiting. In Gift of Life’s region, which encompasses Delaware, southern New Jersey and the eastern half of Pennsylvania, there are currently more than 5,000 men, women and children awaiting a lifesaving transplant. The percentage of people registered as organ donors through their states’ driver’s license registries are: 52 percent in Delaware, 36 percent in New Jersey and 49.4 percent in Pennsylvania.

“We are so privileged to serve the community that is the most generous region in the country for donation,” said Jan L. Weinstock, Gift of Life vice president of administration and general counsel. “Yet the need for increased communication and advocacy about the shortage of organs for transplant remains a critical public health issue. We urge everyone to register as a donor and join our mission. Our vision is that one day, no one will die waiting for an organ.”

One organ donor can save the lives of up to eight people, and a tissue donor can improve the lives of more than 75 others.

It only takes 30 seconds to register at www.donors1.org.