UW Health Urges Immediate Donor Registration During Donate Life Month As 90,000 Await Kidney Transplants

UW Health Urges Organ Donor Registrations During Donate Life Month As 90,000 Await Kidneys

USA: UW Health is urging people to register as organ donors during April’s Donate Life Month, highlighting how one donor can enable multiple organ and tissue transplants. Hospital leaders say organ, tissue and cornea transplantation restores sight, mobility and healing for many patients and families.

Kidneys remain the most in-demand organ in the United States, with about 90,000 people currently waiting for a kidney transplant. Thousands more are on lists for hearts, lungs and livers, while others need small bowel or intestinal transplants for conditions that leave them unable to eat or digest food after surgeries or disease.

UW Health clinicians emphasize that every effort is made to save a patient’s life first; discussion of donation and procurement only occurs when it is medically clear the patient will not survive. Doctors note that timely consent and coordinated procurement make it possible for one donor to provide organs and tissues that relieve suffering across multiple recipients.

To register, officials recommend checking the organ donor box when renewing a driver’s license and visiting state donor registries for more information. As Donate Life Month proceeds, UW Health says increased registration can translate directly into more lifesaving transplants and restored quality of life for those waiting.

Video originally published on 2026-04-01 17:27:39