Transplant Programs at Mayo Clinic

Organ Donation

In the United States and around the globe, a shortage is growing. This shortage is not of doctors, nor of medical facilities. In fact, it's something over which Mayo Clinic can have almost no control: the number of organs donated for transplantation.

• Over 97,000 people are waiting today for transplant surgeries, per the official U.S. government web site for organ and tissue donation — each waiting for "the gift of life."
  
• Each day, about 74 people receive an organ transplant.
  
• However, 17 people die each day waiting for transplants that can't take place because of the shortage of donated organs.

Mayo Clinic is the largest transplant center in the country, and a leader in transplant research. Mayo routinely offers options to patients today that didn't exist as recently as 10 years ago.

But without organ donors — people who have designated their consent to donate vital organs after death — nothing can be done for thousands of patients whose only hope lies in the forethought and generosity of others whom they may never meet.

One donor can save up to eight lives and enhance the lives of 40 others. Organ donation gives life, and costs nothing.

How Can You Become an Organ Donor?

Becoming an organ donor is easy. Every adult can designate themself as a donor by:

• signing a Uniform Donor Card, or by
• indicating their willingness to donate on their driver's license application.

However, neither of the above creates a guarantees donation without a second step: at time of death, a designated donor's family or next-of-kin will be asked to sign an organ donation consent form. It is vitally important for people to talk with their families about their wish to donate organs. One-third of consenting donors never realize their wish to donate because family members subsequently refuse permission — in many cases simply because they are unaware of their loved one's preference.

Mayo Clinic benefits from the work of several outstanding organizations that facilitate organ donation across the United States. In particular, the web site from LifeSource provides insightful answers to many questions on the donation process, separates myth from fact on organ donation, offers helpful religious perspectives, and highlights one of the richest aspects of deciding to donate — the legacy such an act creates for others.

• Myths and facts about organ donation
• About the donation process
• Religious perspectives on donation
• Donation as legacy

Please consider becoming an organ donor; your decision can make a permanent and wonderful impact on the lives of others.