April is National Donate Life Month

Sign up to become an organ or tissue donor — you could save someone’s life.

Eighteen people a day die while waiting for an organ transplant.

One organ donor can help save the lives of up to eight people.

One tissue donor can help as many as 50 people.

April is National Donate Life month, and throughout the month the UF Health Science Center and Shands HealthCare are joining others around the country in promoting awareness of the need for organ and tissue donation.

More than 110,000 people are on the national organ transplant waiting list, according to data from the United Network for Organ Sharing, the nonprofit organization that maintains the national transplant database. Of those, 4,000 are listed at transplant centers in Florida, and almost 400 are wait-listed at Shands. This year, thousands of patients also will need transplants of tissue such as skin and heart valves.

A Gainesville and Jacksonville campus donation drive dubbed “Rock the Registry” aims to encourage as many faculty, staff, students and volunteers as possible to sign up to become donors so that one day they might help save a life.

To learn more or to register to become a donor, visit www.DonateLifeFlorida.org. When signing up, please answer the question “How did you learn about Florida’s donor registry?” Select “My Employer/Workplace” from the dropdown box, then select “UF Health Science Center-Gainesville,” “UF Health Science Center-Jacksonville,” “Shands at UF” or “Shands Jacksonville,” as applicable.