Donate Life
With Success Comes Hope!
Each year the number of people who are waiting for transplant continues to grow. Scientific, clinical and medication advances have made it possible for people to live longer, healthier and more satisfying lives after they receive their transplant. Here's how you can help.
Consider Living Kidney Donation
Donating a kidney to a person in need - be it loved one, friend, or stranger - is a wonderful and courageous gift. At the Transplant Center, we support our living donors with education and guidance, carefully explaining the risks and benefits of the surgical procedure, protecting your rights and privacy, and ensuring complete confidentiality. We have dedicated a living donor nurse coordinator to manage your care and services, and provide support to you and your family. Link here for more information about living donation at BIDMC, including a special program on live donor paired kidney exchange through the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) Kidney Paired Donation Program.
Spread the Word
If you have had a transplant or have been a donor, help us promote tissue and organ donation. Once you have regained your health, let people know about your lifesaving experience. Your firsthand account may convince others to give the gift of life. If you have a loved one waiting for a transplant, add your voice and together raise awareness in your neighborhood, community and state.
Make the Decision
Say yes to becoming an organ and tissue donor when you apply for, or when you renew, your driver's license. And then tell your loved ones so they can honor your wishes and take comfort in knowing that your generous gift will save or enhance the lives of others.
Get the Facts
Being a responsible advocate for donation means learning all that you can about the process. Donor organs include kidney, liver and pancreas, among others, and donor tissue includes corneas, bone marrow and blood. Here are some helpful web sites:
American Association of Kidney Patients
www.aakp.org
American Transplant Association
www.americantransplantfoundation.org/
Donate Life America
www.shareyourlife.org
Donate Life - US Department of Health and Human Services
www.organdonor.gov
International Association for Organ Donation
www.iaod.org
Living Donors Online!
www.livingdonorsonline.org
National Council on Minority Education in Transplantation
www.transweb.org
National Kidney Foundation
www.livingdonors.org
OPTN Kidney Paired Donation Program
www.optn.transplant.hrsa.gov
www.unos.org
www.transplantliving.org