95% of Americans agree with organ donation, but only 48% register as donors.

67% of Coloradans are registered organ donors. (The highest number in the USA.)

1 organ donor can save up to 8 lives.

1 tissue donor can positively impact up to 75 lives.

85% of people in America can donate tissue after death.

46,632 people received an organ transplant in 2023.

In 2022, the US surpassed one million total transplants.

Over 103,000 people are on the transplant waitlist.

Every 8 minutes someone is added to the transplant waiting list–that’s 160 people each day.

17 people die everyday waiting for a transplant.

Over 6,000 children and adults die yearly on the transplant waitlist.

Only 3 in 1,000 registered donors die in a way that allows for organ transplantation.

A national system matches available organs from the donor with people on the waiting list based on blood type, body size, how sick they are, donor distance, tissue type, and time on the list.

Medical staff will always work to save your life whether you are an organ donor or not.

Deceased organ donation is the process of giving an organ or a part of an organ at the time of the donor’s death for the purpose of transplantation to another person. Only after all efforts to save the patient’s life have been exhausted, tests have been performed to confirm the absence of brain or brainstem activity, and brain death has been declared, is donation a possibility.

There is no cost to the donor’s family or estate for donation. The donor family pays only for medical expenses before death and costs associated with funeral arrangements.

Funeral arrangements of your choice are possible, including a viewing. Through the entire donation process the body is treated with care and respect. Following donation, funeral arrangements can continue as planned.

Your age does not matter for donating: the oldest organ donor in history was 107, she donated her corneas And the youngest organ donor was 74 minutes old and donated her kidneys and liver cells.

Your wealth or fame does not impact your position on the transplant waitlist.

A person's sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression does NOT prevent that person from becoming an organ donor (deceased or living).

All major world religions support organ donation.

You can donate your heart, both lungs, liver, both kidneys, your pancreas, and small intestine.

The kidneys are the most commonly needed organ as well as the most commonly donated organ.

As a living donor you can donate 1 lung, 1 kidney, part of your liver (it grows back), part of your pancreas, and part of your small intestine.

You can donate plasma, bone and associated tissue, tendons, eyes/corneas, heart valves, skin, veins and arteries, and nerves.

People of African American/Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Alaska Native and multiracial descent currently make up nearly 58% of individuals on the national organ transplant waiting list. Although donation and transplantation can take place successfully between individuals from different racial or ethnic groups, transplant success is often better when organs are matched between people of the same racial or ethnic background.

The HOPE (HIV Organ Policy Equity) Act has made possible organ donation and transplantation between HIV positive donors and HIV positive recipients. In the seven years since it passed there have been 358 transplants.