On April 15, 2024, Donate Life hosted a sign-up booth in the D.P. Culp Student Center from 1-4 p.m. The booth helped educate students on being an organ donor and how to sign up.

In 2021, a record of more than 40,000 people were saved by organ transplants from donors. 46,000 people receive sight-saving corneal transplants a year.

Seventeen people each day die waiting for an organ transplant each day, with over 100,000 more waiting to receive life-saving transplants.

Through Donate Life’s website, you can sign up if you have a driver’s license or state ID or by checking “Yes” when renewing your driver’s license. You must also be above the age of 18, however, you can join the registry list if you are between 13 and 17.

Donate Life also allows you to donate all organs or tissues as well as select preferences of organs you would be willing to donate.

The organs that can be harvested by Donate Life are the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, pancreas and small intestine. The tissues are the skin, bones, ligaments, vertebral bodies, heart valves, pericardium, veins, blood vessels, nerves and eyes/corneas.

Over 75 people can be helped by a single tissue donor, while eight people can be helped by a single organ donor.

The process of harvesting organs and tissues happens after death is confirmed. For most donations, they must harvest as soon as possible.

Organs and tissues from donors are also often used for education and studies. This happens when eligible or compatible recipients cannot be found.

These studies help doctors and researchers better understand diseases and develop treatments to better help people in the future.

Donate Life will be visiting the Cave in the D.P. Culp Student Center again on April 22, 2024.

(Contributed/ETSU)

For more information visit the Donate Life TN website.