STEP UP TO THE PLATE:
BECOME AN ORGAN DONOR
When you register to be an organ, eye and tissue donor, or commit to being a living donor, you make life possible for the 117,000 people waiting for a second chance at life.
Watch: Heather Winfree uses a pack of baseball cards to tell her husband Steve, an AKF Advocate, that she is a kidney match.
"My hope is that Steve and my story will cut your wait time down substantially, people (friends, family, strangers) will step up and get tested to be a living kidney donor, and that you will all find your match and live healthier, happier, longer lives."
- Heather Winfree
THE NEED
There are not nearly enough organs available to save the lives of the people who need them. Did you know that every organ, eye and tissue donor could save up to eight lives and improve the lives of dozens more? Register to be a donor after you die, and learn more about the possibility of being a living donor.
117,000 people are waiting for lifesaving organ donations.
Even with the most advanced medical treatment, the number of men, women and children on the waiting list for organ transplants remains stubbornly high. Organ, eye and tissue donors give them hope for a lifesaving transplant.
4 out of 5 patients on the waiting list need a kidney transplant.
There are not nearly enough kidneys available from deceased donors for all the people on the waiting list. If more people register to be organ, eye and tissue donors, we can make more kidneys from deceased donors available. But, because most people can live a normal healthy life with only one kidney, living donation is an alternative.
13 people die every day because a kidney was not donated in time.
Sadly, the shortage of available kidneys means that many people on the waiting list will not survive long enough to receive an organ from a deceased donor. That’s why it’s so important that more people Step up to the Plate—by registering to be an organ donor, and by learning more about living donation.
REGISTER TO BE A DONOR
Commit now to giving life to others when you die. The organs from one person can save up to eight people, and the tissue from one person can help more than 50 people!
LEARN ABOUT BEING A LIVING DONOR
If you have two healthy kidneys, you may be able to donate one of your kidneys to save someone else’s life. Both you and the recipient of your kidney can live with just one healthy kidney.
FOLLOW STEVE AND HEATHER'S STORY
Sign up to get updates on Steve and Heather's story and to learn how you can support others like them.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN KIDNEY FUND
The American Kidney Fund is the nation’s leading nonprofit working on behalf of the 30 million Americans with kidney disease. We help people fight kidney disease and live healthier lives by providing a complete spectrum of programs and services: prevention activities, top-rated health educational resources, and direct financial assistance enabling 1 in 5 U.S. dialysis patients to access lifesaving medical care, including dialysis and transplantation.
Check out stories about kidney donation and transplantation below:
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