GALVESTON, Texas - The Galveston City Council Thursday presented a proclamation to the Texas Transplant Center at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and the Southwest Transplant Alliance declaring April "Organ Donor Awareness Month" in Galveston.
Director of the UTMB Texas Transplant Center Dr. Luca Cicalese reiterated the importance of organ donation and how one donor can save the lives of multiple patients waiting for transplants. "The need for organs far exceeds the availability, and that gap is growing," he said.
Cicalese, Perry Pierson, transplant coordinator assistant, and members of the Southwest Transplant Alliance presented Mayor Thomas with a leather vest decorated with organ donor pins and the UTMB Texas Transplant Center "TX2" patch.
In the United States, 18 patients die every day waiting for an organ. As of April 1, there are 8,098 people waiting for organs in Texas. The organ waiting list is largest for kidneys, with over 6,000 people on the waiting list in Texas.
In 2005, Texas joined 40 other states by creating its own donor registry. The Texas Department of State Health Services maintains the donor registry. Only professionals from the state's organ procurement organizations and tissue and eye banks can access the information in the database.
Anyone may become a potential organ donor by registering online and sharing their decision with loved ones. Informing next-of-kin is crucial to becoming a donor even for people who carry signed donor cards. For more information, visit http://www.donatelifetexas.org/.