Donate Life Month 2015
Talking Points
April is National Donate Life Month, a time to honor donors and donor families who have made life-saving gifts
to patients in need. It is also a time to raise awareness for the ongoing need for organ, tissue and eye donation
— particularly in the African-American community. Transplants offer patients a new chance at happy, productive
and normal lives and return them to their families and communities.
BloodCenter of Wisconsin is encouraging people to become an organ, tissue and eye donor with a donor dot and
signature on their driver’s license, and by joining the online registry.
BloodCenter works in collaboration with its local partners, such as churches, community groups and government
officials, to promote the importance of donation. For more information and to join a registry, visit
www.bcw.edu/sharinglife. Individuals are also encouraged to share their wishes with their family members.
Organ Donation FAQs
What does it mean to register? Having your name included in the Wisconsin donor registry means that you
have authorized the gift of your organs, tissues and eyes upon your death. Registering indicates legal consent
for donation. Your gift will be used to save and improve the lives of others.
Will I be able to go to Heaven, or I will have consequences in the next life or the afterlife if I donate my
organs? Most faiths, including the Christian traditions, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism, have taken the
theological position that organ donation will not affect you in the afterlife or the next life. Many see organ
donation as morally right and good and they describe it as an act of charity and love toward others.
Will my doctor let me die so they can transplant organs to their other patients? Medical and nursing care is
not affected by your status as a donor. Every attempt is made to save your life. The medical team who works to
save your life is a completely separate team from the donation professionals who recover organs and tissues.
Could donation disfigure the body and/or delay the funeral? The donor’s body is treated with respect and
dignity throughout the donation process. Organ and tissue donation is a very careful surgical procedure. Great
care is taken so that an open-casket service is still possible with any type of donation. The donation process
begins after death, therefore wouldn’t delay funeral arrangements. Donation coordinators work closely with
families to ensure their personal needs are met.
Is there a cost to be an organ, eye and tissue donor? There is no cost to the donor’s family or estate for
donation. The donor family pays only for medical expenses before death and funeral expenses.
Organ Donation Facts
 African-Americans are the largest group of minorities in need of organ transplants. African-Americans
have high rates of diabetes and high blood pressure, increasing the risk of organ failure and the need for
transplants.
- MORE -




African-Americans are encouraged to become donors to help other African-Americans in need of
transplants. Successful transplantation is often enhanced by matching of organs between members of
the same racial and ethnic group.
More than 2,500 people in Wisconsin and more than 123,000 people in the U.S. are awaiting organ
transplants, including more than 37,000 African-Americans. More than 34,000 of them await a kidney.
In 2014, more than 643 transplants were done in the state of Wisconsin; approximately 60 of the
recipients were African-American.
Becoming a donor allows individuals to give the highly personal and unique gifts of organ, tissue, eye,
marrow and blood. For many people, your donation will be their only chance for recovery or survival.
Tissue/Eye Donation Facts
 More than one million Americans receive tissue transplants of bone, heart valves, tendons, ligaments,
corneas and skin annually.
 One tissue donor can improve the lives of more than 50 people.
 More than 25,000 patients received tissue in 2014 through BloodCenter as a result of donor gifts.
 Each year, more than 47,000 corneal transplants are needed to improve lives across the U.S.
Marrow Donation Facts
 Every year, more than 35,000 children and adults in the United States are diagnosed with lifethreatening diseases, such as leukemia or lymphoma. For many of them, receiving healthy marrow
and/or blood stem cell transplants is their only chance for survival.
 These patients depend on Be The Match Marrow Registry for a life-saving marrow match.
 Patients are most likely to be a match for someone of their own race or ethnicity, so it’s tremendously
important for as many people as possible, from every ethnic heritage, to join the registry.
 Only a small percentage (7.6%) of people on the Be the Match® registry are African-Americans.
 By joining the Be The Match Marrow Registry you could be the life-saving match for someone waiting for
a transplant. Visit www.bcw.edu/sharinglife to register.
 Joining Be The Match Registry is simple. Basic requirements for registering to be a potential donor
include being between the ages of 18 and 44, in general good health and willing to be available if
identified as a match for a patient in need. Once a health history form is completed, a mouth swab test
is given. The swabs are tested to determine tissue type and individuals are only contacted if identified as
a match. The process, including paperwork, takes approximately 15 minutes.
Blood Donation Facts
 Every three seconds someone needs blood.
 Patients who receive frequent transfusions, like those with sickle cell disease, are less likely to
experience complications if they receive blood of a type that closely matches their own. The best
matches for individuals of African descent come from individuals of African descent because of their
common genetic heritage.
 SCD is the most prevalent hereditary blood disorder in the United States. It affects 90,000-100,000
Americans and one in every 500 African-Americans. In Wisconsin, approximately 800 individuals are
living with SCD. Most of them are African-American.
 Blood is needed by a variety of patients including those with cancer, premature babies, accident victims
and those undergoing surgery.
 Donating blood is quick, safe and relatively painless. Generally, you can donate blood if you are at least
16 years old (with a parent’s consent), weigh 110 pounds and are free of cold, flu or allergy symptoms.
For more information on donation, visit www.bcw.edu/sharinglife
###