“When you last renewed your driver's license, you may have checked the box to become an organ donor. Or you may have skipped it. And you may have chosen either option without thinking about it too much, or without truly understanding the decision you were making.
Choosing whether to be an organ donor is certainly a personal decision, but it really is a heroic one - and one that you, as an individual, can make on your own.
"In many ways, being an organ donor is one of the greatest gifts you can give," said Dr. Michael R. Marvin, director of transplantation and liver surgery for Geisinger. "It's a very selfless act because you most likely won't know the recipients, but by choosing to donate, you are saving or improving the lives of many people."
One organ and tissue donor can save and enhance the lives of up to 50 people. An organ donor can give a second chance at life to up to eight people. Through tissue donation, a donor can enhance the lives of countless others through bone donations to repair fractures and prevent amputations, skin donations to heal burn patients and heart valve donations to repair life-threatening defects. Donors can also donate their corneas, which can give the gift of sight to recipients.
Last year, more than 30,000 organ transplants were performed in the United States.
"Even with all of our success, there is still work to do in educating the public about the critical need to register more organ and tissue donors," Dr. Marvin said. "The statistics are frightening. Currently in the United States, 21 people on average die each day because there aren't enough life-saving organs available for transplant."
According to the Gift of Life Donor Program, over 8,400 Pennsylvanians are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant. Residents who have a driver's license or state identification card can go online and add the donor designation to their record. You can also register online at www.donors1.org.
"You no longer have to wait until you renew your driver's license or state identification card. It's a quick and easy process to register online," Dr. Marvin said.” Sorry for the top guy hope this helps can you mark me brainiest?
