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Editorial
Hospital Association taking lead in effort for organ donation
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
How many television and movie dramas use waiting for an organ donation as a key part of the plot? How many of us know someone facing just such a need in real life?
We won't have to look far, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, which says more than 100,000 men, women and children currently need life-saving organ transplants.
According to statistics:
* Every 10 minutes another name is added to the national organ transplant waiting list.
* An average of 18 people die each day from the lack of available organs for transplant.
* In 2009, there were 8,021 deceased organ donors and 6,610 living organ donors resulting in 28,465 organ transplants.
* Last year, more than 42,000 grafts were made available for transplant by eye banks within the United States.
* According to research, 98 percent of all adults have heard about organ donation and 86 percent have heard of tissue donation.
* 90 percent of Americans say they support donation, but only 30 percent know the essential steps to take to be a donor.
The Nebraska Hospital Association is trying to change those statistics, through the launch of Donor Drive 2011, a statewide collaborative with Nebraska Organ Recovery System to add 80,000 names to the Donor Registry of Nebraska. Efforts to sign up new donors in 2011 are aimed to help bolster the pool of potential organ and tissue donors in Nebraska.
"This initiative was created to help improve and extend the lives of Nebraskans by increasing public and professional participation in organ and tissue donation for transplantation," stated Laura J. Redoutey, FACHE, president of the Nebraska Hospital Associaiton.
As part of the campaign, Nebraska hospitals are being asked to achieve a goal of adding one name to the registry for every two employees. Hospitals are encouraged to recruit employees, family members, neighbors, friends and colleagues. Statewide, the NHA and NORS have set a goal of 80,000 new registrants from the collective efforts of Nebraska hospitals.
There's no age limit for signing up, and the NHA is encouraging individuals to help the 927 residents of Nebraska waiting for a transplant by adding their name to the Donor Registry of Nebraska.
For more information, or to join the registry, visit www.NEdonordrive.com