April is National Donate Life Month
Celebrating the generosity of donors and the lives they save
Each April, Donate Life America (DLA) leads National Donate Life Month (NDLM), an observance to focus national attention on the need and importance of organ, eye and tissue donation. National Donate Life Month is about the importance of registering your decision to be a donor, and honoring deceased and living donors — recognizing that the generosity of donors makes saving lives through transplantation possible.
Donate LifeTM is the national brand for the cause of donation, uniting the hundreds of donation and transplantation organizations; the hundreds of thousands of recipients, living donors, donor families, supporters and patients waiting; and the 170 million people who have registered their decision to be a donor at the end of their life.
More than 100,000 people across the country are currently waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant. Thousands more people are waiting for lifesaving and healing cornea and tissue transplants. Because only 3 in 1000 people die in a way that allows for organ donation to take place, it is vitally important for everyone to register their lifesaving decision to be an organ, eye and tissue donor. Learning more about and considering living donation is another way to help those waiting for a second chance at life.
Ways to participate in National Donate Life Month 2022:
Give hope and help save lives by registering your decision to be an organ, eye and tissue donor at Gift of Life Michigan GOLM.org, on RegisterMe.org or in the Medical ID tab of your iPhone Health app. To those who have already registered their donation decision, thank you! Help continue to save lives by sharing the Donate Life message, educating others about the need and how their generosity can help save and heal lives.
The 2022 National Donate Life Month Artwork was inspired by the vital role that bees play in sustaining life. Bees are a small but powerful life force, working together with dedication, collaboration and a strong sense of community. NDLM art is used in resources and events throughout April.
You can join key celebrations throughout April to support the Donate Life cause online and in your community:
- Blue & Green Spirit Week, April 16-22, 2022
Each day of the week leading up to National Donate Life Blue & Green Day is dedicated to a special theme. Information and free public resources are available at DonateLife.net/celebrations. - National Donate Life Blue & Green Day, April 22, 2022
On Donate Life Blue & Green Day, we invite everyone to show their blue & green colors in support of the Donate Life message and mission. DLA hosts an annual National Donate Life Blue & Green Day Photo Contest at DonateLife.net/blue-green-day/. The photo contest is open to the public, and each year photos are submitted showcasing incredible blue and green spirit and creativity.
- National Pediatric Transplant Week, April 24-30, 2022
The last full week of National Donate Life Month is dedicated to kids. National Pediatric Transplant Week (NPTW) focuses on ending the pediatric transplant waiting list. Information and free public resources are available at DonateLife.net/pediatric-transplant-week.
Thank you to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the American Society of Transplantation (AST), the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS), the International Transplant Nurses Society (ITNS) and Transplant Families for their partnership in helping develop and grow this important week
*Data from the Donate Life America (DLA) Registry Overview Report, organdonor.gov, and Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) as of March 2022
