Save a Life: Become an Organ Donor

April is Donate Life Month — the perfect time to reflect on the lifesaving role of organ donors.

More than 100,000 people are waiting on an organ transplant across the U.S., according to Donate Life America. A new patient joins the organ transplant wait list every eight minutes. Organ donors give patients on the transplant list a chance to enjoy a new start and a healthy future.

Memorial Transplant Institute: A Leader in Organ Transplant

Memorial Transplant Institute is a nationally recognized Transplant Center of Excellence by Optum and one of the top ten transplant facilities in the U.S. Our skilled surgical teams provide the following lifesaving transplant services for both children and adults.

Kidney Transplant

Memorial Transplant Institute is one of only two programs in South Florida that offers kidney transplants for both adult and pediatric kidney transplant patients. A transplant is a lifesaving treatment for patients with chronic kidney disease or kidney failure due to conditions such as:

• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Kidney cancer
• Lupus or other autoimmune diseases

A new kidney allows patients to end their dependency on dialysis and regain a healthier future.

According to UNOS, we are one of the fastest-growing kidney transplant programs by volume, reaching more than 200 total transplants in under seven years.

Heart Transplant

Our heart transplant teams specialize in adult and pediatric heart transplants. These lifesaving surgeries offer patients with end-stage heart failure or congenital heart defects a second chance at a full and active life.

In March 2024, our ten year old program reached a major milestone by completing 150 total heart transplants.

Pancreas Transplant

Pancreas transplants transform the lives of patients with insulin-resistant Type 1 diabetes because the surgery eliminates the need for daily insulin injections. Pancreas recipients can also return to a normal diet, free from strict sugar limitations.

Nine out of 10 pancreas transplants in the U.S. occur as part of a combined pancreas-kidney transplant. We are one of two transplant centers in South Florida offering this dual-organ transplant. The procedure provides a fresh start for patients with kidney failure caused by diabetes.

Since launching this program in 2023, our teams have completed five dual kidney-pancreas transplants.

Deceased Organ Donation

Most organ donations occur immediately after someone dies. If you sign up as an organ donor, you give permission for surgical teams to remove your usable organs and tissues moments after your death.

During the donation process, doctors remove and try to match the donor’s heart, kidneys, liver, lungs and pancreas with people on the waiting list for these organs. Donatable donor tissues like corneas and skin can help restore others’ sight or aid a burn victim’s healing.

One person can save the lives of up to eight people through organ donations and more than 75 people through tissue donation.

Living Donor Organ Donation

Organ donation doesn’t only have to occur when someone dies.

Living organ donation allows doctors to remove a healthy organ (or an organ part) from a living person. Surgical teams then transplant the gifted organ into a patient who needs it.

Living donation is possible with several transplant procedures:

• Kidney: Many healthy adults can be a candidate for living kidney donation. Everyone has two kidneys, but you only need one to live.
• Liver : Most healthy adults can donate a portion of their liver. After donation, the liver regrows. It is the only human organ able to regenerate.
• Lung, pancreas, or intestine: These organs do not regrow, so living donation is less frequent. But, some healthy adults can donate a portion of these organs. You can live a normal life with the portions that remain.

As a living kidney donor, you have the power to reduce the wait for someone who needs a new kidney. Most patients have to wait an average of three years for a deceased donor kidney. But living donor transplants — once they match — can happen within weeks.

Be a real-life superhero and help save a life as a living organ donor. Reach out to Memorial Transplant Institute to learn more.