By Samantha Munro
It is fitting that National Organ Donation Day is the same day as Valentine’s Day as it is an expression of love — the love of life! Observed every year on February 14th, National Donor Day is an observance dedicated to spreading awareness and education about organ, eye and tissue donation. National Donor Day was started in 1998 by the Saturn Corporation and its partner, the United Auto Workers and is supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
No one wants to think of death, but when you associate it with the life of another, you may start thinking of it differently. More than 100,000 people are waiting for a lifesaving transplant, and every 8 minutes another person is added to the national transplant waiting list. Sadly 6,000+ people die each year while waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant.
National Donor Day is a day to recognize those who have given and received the gift of life through organ, eye and tissue donation, currently waiting for a lifesaving transplant, and those who died waiting because an organ was not donated in time.
Organ transplant surgeries are almost always accompanied by the use of blood donations. For example, in 2021, the average amount of blood products transfused during heart transplantation surgeries was 7.83 units of red blood cells, 2.67 units of fresh frozen plasma, 13.13 units of platelets and 1.74 units of cryoprecipitate. For lung transplantation surgeries, the average is even higher: 14.84 units of red blood cells, 12.29 units of fresh frozen plasma, 23.63 units of platelets and 2.57 units of cryoprecipitate.
This is why the American Red Cross strives to keep its inventory of blood products at a level to handle a possibility of multiple transplants, traumas and treatments. Visit our website to learn more about donating blood or to schedule an appointment.
To learn more about organ, tissue and blood donation check out these websites:
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