CELEBRATING NATIONAL DONATE LIFE MONTH AND LIFEQUEST’S RECORD YEAR
Watch for educational resources and donation registration opportunities in April
Each April the nation’s organ donation and transplantation community — along with hospital partners, businesses and community organizations — come together to celebrate National Donate Life Month. This is a time to celebrate the lives saved through organ donation and transplantation and to encourage others to embrace donation.
The theme for 2023, presented by Donate Life America, is “Make a Splash for Donate Life Month.” The inspiration behind the theme was the natural world of the pond coming to life in the spring. Frogs are a sign of healing and renewal, and water lilies represent hope. Lily pads may be small on top, but have deep roots below the surface, reminding us of the collaboration and support needed for hope to bloom.
The staff at LifeQuest, along with donation champions at UF Health Shands Hospital and the UF Health Shands Transplant Center, will be sharing the message about lifesaving donation and transplantation with several tabling events, donation registration stations and donor family and recipient testimonials.
UF Health Shands also will be participating in Donate Life Florida’s “Let Your Light Shine” campaign by lighting up several outdoor areas, including the water fountains at Butler Lake and Rush Lake; the landscaping in front of UF Health Shands Hospital; and the third-level walkway outside the UF Health Heart & Vascular and Neuromedicine hospitals.
LifeQuest’s Record Year of Saving Lives
For the fifth consecutive year, the number of lives that have been saved from LifeQuest organ donors has risen tremendously. None of it would have been possible without the support and collaboration of partner hospitals, including UF Health Shands Hospital and UF Health Jacksonville. From the initial recognition of clinical triggers by the bedside nursing staff to the complex choreography of an OR recovery, LifeQuest’s referring hospitals’ support led to 566 patients receiving the gift of life last year.
Alongside this support was the selflessness of 161 individuals who designated themselves as organ donors and another 81 families who provided authorization for this miracle of medicine to occur. Those 242 donors and their families gave a new lease on life for so many in need. Among them were 189 patients listed at the three transplant centers in LifeQuest’s North Florida service area. An additional 151 patients listed at other Florida transplant centers received lifesaving organs from LifeQuest donors, as did 226 patients listed elsewhere in the United States. All told, LifeQuest provided organs to 65 transplant centers in 2022.
Out of the nation’s 56 Organ Procurement Organizations, or OPOs, 42 experienced increases in donation last year leading to the 12th consecutive year of increases across the board, while 38 saw their highest numbers ever. There were 14,903 deceased organ donors in 2022, which was a 7.5% increase from the year prior, and there were an additional 6,466 living donors who gave the gift of life. Together, those heroes contributed to 42,887 organ transplants being performed, an increase of 3.7% from 2021, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing.
Last year also marked the milestones of 1 million organ transplants performed and more than 25,000 kidney transplants performed in one year, according to the network.
Click the link to sign up to be an organ donor on Florida’s donor registry.
