WVU Medicine and Donate Life West Virginia to Observe Donor Day on August 1

News Release
August 3, 2024

The WVU Medicine Transplant Alliance is collaborating with Donate Life West Virginia to honor West Virginia Donor Day on August 1. This annual event is significant as the date symbolizes the life-saving potential of a single organ donor, who can save up to eight lives and help heal as many as 75 others.

“Right now, approximately 350 West Virginians and more than 100,000 Americans across the country are waiting for a life-saving organ donation,” said Michael Shullo, Pharm.D., vice president of WVU Medicine Transplant Alliance. “Something so easy as one person registering as an organ donor can make an enormous, life-changing impact on dozens of other people and their families.”

While many are familiar with common organ and tissue donations such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, and corneas, there are other potential donations that can significantly improve lives. According to Donate Life West Virginia, the impact of various donations includes:

A heart donation can provide the recipient with years of active living.
A lung donation can allow the recipient to breathe unaided.
A kidney donation saves the recipient from dialysis and early death.
A liver donation can restore the recipient’s life.
An intestine donation can aid the recipient’s digestion.
A pancreas donation can eliminate the recipient’s insulin dependency.
A cornea donation can restore the recipient’s sight.
A tendon donation can be used to rebuild the recipient’s joints.
A valve donation can repair the recipient’s cardiac defects.
A vein donation can re-establish the recipient’s circulation.
A skin donation can heal a recipient’s burns.
A bone donation can prevent the recipient from needing an amputation.

West Virginia faces serious health challenges, with one of the highest rates of kidney failure in the nation. Heart disease and kidney disease rank among the leading causes of death in the state.

WVU Medicine is home to the state’s first and only multi-organ transplant center, providing heart and kidney transplants at an academic medical center. This facility serves individuals across West Virginia and the surrounding region.

For more information about the WVU Medicine Transplant Alliance, visit WVUMedicine.org/Transplant. To register as an organ donor, go to RegisterMe.org/WVUMedicine.