Be the One to Save Eight Lives
Every day, 20 people in the United States die while waiting for an organ transplant. For people whose organs are failing because of disease or injury, donated organs and tissue may offer the gift of hope.
A single organ, eye, and tissue donor has the potential to save eight lives and help up to 75 more individuals. By registering as an organ donor, you can be the one who impacts the lives of so many others.
Together, UPMC staff, transplant recipients, donor families, living donors, and everyone else who makes transplant possible celebrate the gift of life. We urge you to be the one who may save eight lives by becoming an organ, eye, and tissue donor.
Know the Facts
- On average, one person is added to the transplant waiting list every 10 minutes.
- Nearly more than 100,000 people in the United States need a lifesaving organ transplant, with thousands more in need of tissue and corneal transplants.
- Surgeons can transplant a kidney, part of the liver, and bone marrow from living donors.
Meet Autumn, Tammy, Chuck, and Virginia
Learn about the lifesaving impact organ donors can make.
Autumn Pillman
Autumn was fighting for her life after being diagnosed with biliary atresia. Her father jumped at the opportunity to be the living donor. Read about their experience at UPMC Children’s.
Tammy Cook
Tammy was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Fearful and hesitant at first, Tammy knew that a lung transplant would be her only option. Today, she is thankful for her new lungs and thinks often of her donor a 30-year-old Purple Heart recipient and father of two.
Chuck Lutz and Virginia Kerschbaumer
When Chuck Lutz learned that he was in kidney failure, he was hesitant and afraid to put anyone in his family at risk. His younger sister, Virginia, decided to become his living donor. Virginia and Chuck underwent a living-donor kidney transplant at the UPMC Hamot Kidney Transplant Program and are both doing great.