Saying YES to Saving LivesA community presentation on organ, eye and tissue donation

• Manage the confidential Oregon Donor Registry• Educate DMV employees about the importance of asking every visitor “do

you want to be an organ donor?”• Visit high schools in Oregon and SW Washington to give free presentations• Work with over 400 volunteers statewide to organize community-based

presentations, events, and donor registration drives• Facilitate accurate representation in local media (print, TV and online)

Visit our websites or call/email us to get involved or ask questions!

Donate Life NorthwestServing Oregon and SW Washington since 19752525 SW 1st Ave, Suite 175 | Portland, OR 97201503-494-7888 www.donatelifeNW.org | www.donevidaNW.org | www.goreycleyourself.com

• More than 130,000 Americans are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant.– More than 80% need a kidney.– In the Pacific Northwest, over 3,000 people are waiting.

Why our work matters

• Not everyone receives a transplant in time.• At least 30 Americans die every day,

waiting for a donation which never comes.

Why?

• Fear• Lack of information• “I’ll get around to it… uh…tomorrow!”

“I just don’t want to think about it!”

Donation is…

• A life-giving gift• An act of supreme

generosity • Selfless• A surgical procedure

conducted with compassion and respect

• Often a source of comfort for families, whose loved one’s legacy lives on

Donation is NOT…

• A conspiracy to “steal” your organs and tissues

• Disfiguring • An end-of-life decision

that just “goes away” if you ignore it

• Prohibited or discouraged by any mainstream religion in the United States

Facts about Donation

• Your medical care will NEVER be compromised because you signed up as a donor.

– Hospital staff cannot access your state’s Donor Registry, and have nothing to do with the donation process.

– A completely separate team of Organ Recovery Professionals are called in only after all life-saving efforts have been exhausted and death has been legally declared.

• Age or past medical issues may not prevent your ability to donate!– At the time of death, Recovery Professionals conduct thorough medical exams to

determine what can and cannot be donated. It may turn out that certain organs are not suitable, but other organs and tissues may be fine. The science of donation is always evolving… please don’t disqualify yourself prematurely!

• Donation costs your family nothing.

Organ Donation: Did you know?• Organ donation is very rare. Less than 1% of the population pass

away within the medical environment which makes organ donation possible.

• One organ donor can save up to eight lives.

Eye and Tissue Donation: Did you know?

• Thousands depend on the donation of corneas to restore their vision.

• Several thousands more depend on the donation of tissue to save or enhance their life.

One cornea and tissue donor can save and enhance more than 50 lives!

Give Life. Take action!

• Talk to your family.Regardless of whether you register as a donor, your next-of-kin will be consulted by Recovery Professionals if donation is a possibility. Too often, families have never discussed donation and do not know what their loved one’s wishes were.

• Register your decision to donate.If you wish to donate any organs or tissues which may be used after your death to save a life, restore sight, or restore mobility, indicate your consent by enrolling in your state’s confidential registry.

1. Say “yes” while renewing your driver’s license, permit or ID while at DMV

2. Register online at www.DonateLifeNW.org.

3. Fill out a paper form and return it to Donate Life Northwest.

What about living kidney donation?• Those waiting for a kidney transplant have a unique

alternative to waiting and hoping for a deceased donor: Living Kidney Donors.– A healthy living person can donate one kidney to a family member,

friend, co-worker… even a stranger.– Donating a kidney does not increase the risk of future health problems,

and people with one kidney live as long as those with two.

To learn more, contact a living kidney donation program!

Anonymous Living Donation Program

Thank you!

Laurie, Hasan, and Tara, waiting for kidney transplants

Mike, liver recipient

Jan, tissue recipient

Carlos, kidney recipient

Lindsey and Rosie, heart recipients

From the hundreds of Oregonians who are waiting, and those who have received the gift of life…