What Else Can I Do?

Bone Marrow

Each year, approximately 30,000 patients in the U.S. will be diagnosed with life-threatening diseases such as leukemia, which are treatable by a marrow or stem cell transplant. Just one in three will find a donor match within their family. Join the National Marrow Donor Program Registry all it takes is a simple blood test. Anyone between the ages of 18-60 and in good general health can join the Registry.

Blood

Most organ transplants would not occur without adequate blood supplies, but only 4% of the population donates blood. One blood donation saves as many as three lives, and healthy adults can donate blood every 56 days.
Make saving lives a habit by donating regularly. Appointments to give blood can be coordinated through your local blood bank.

Living Donation

Why become a living donor? Thousands of people die each year waiting for donated organs. There never are enough organs to meet the need.
Medical science has advanced to the point where donation from a living donor is now possible.

By offering a kidney, lobe of a lung, portion of the liver, pancreas, or intestine, living donors offer their loved one or friend an alternative to waiting on the national transplant waiting list for an organ from a deceased donor.

Giving the gift of life to another person is one of the most meaningful things a person can do. Today, more than 6,000 living donors per year give the gift of life to another person, and one in four of these living donors aren’t biologically related to the recipient.

More Resources

For more information on living kidney donation in the Washington metropolitan area, call 1-866-Be-A-Donor. For more information about other living donation options click here.