Critical need for organ donation in U.S.

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Thank you for taking the time to learn more about the issue of organ and tissue donation.

As you can imagine, it's a topic that has become very important to me since I donated one of my kidneys to my friend Dale Davis. It really is amazing to think that almost a half a million people have had a transplant of some kind and are walking among us. Modern medicine is really amazing.

I would also like to again thank those who have e-mailed, called or taken time to write me a note wishing the best through this journey. But I also want to say again, there are tens of thousands of people among us who have done the very same thing. We really do live among wonderful, giving people and I'm proud to join a group of organ and tissue donors who didn't do this because they wanted fame or a pat on the back. They became an organ donors because they could, and they knew someone else could live a better life because of it.

To watch segments from the show, select the video from the Eyewitness News story window at the top of this page.

We've provided several links here to hospitals and organizations that are helping hundreds of thousands of people.

To register in California as an organ donor, visit Donate Life America (www.donatelife.net)

• Fact Sheet: Patients and doctors often fail to detect chronic kidney disease
• Fact Sheet: Organ Donations
• Are you at risk for the silent disease? Take this quiz and find out

 

For more information:

• OneLegacy (www.onelegacy.org)
  OneLegacy is the nonprofit, federally designated transplant donor network serving 18 million people in seven Southern California counties.
• National Kidney Foundation of Southern California (www.kidneysocal.org)
  The National Kidney Foundation of Southern California seeks to prevent kidney and urinary tract diseases, and increase the availability of all organs for transplantation
• National Kidney Foundation (www.kidney.org)
  The National Kidney Foundation seeks to prevent kidney and urinary tract diseases, and increase the availability of all organs for transplantation.
• Renal Support Network (www.rsnhope.org)
  A nonprofit, patient-focused, patient-run organization that provides non-medical services to those affected by chronic kidney disease (CKD).
• United Network for Organ Sharing (www.unos.org)
  A non-profit, scientific and educational organization that administers the nation's only Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.
• Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (www.optn.org)
  The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) is the unified transplant network established by the U.S. Congress under the National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA) of 1984.
• MySpace page for Dale Davis (www.myspace.com/magicgift)
  The MySpace Web page for kidney transplant recipient Dale Davis.
• National Donor Memorial (www.donormemorial.org)
  The National Donor Memorial located in Richmond, Virginia, pays homage to America's organ and tissue donors--people whose special generosity made new life possible for thousands of children and adults.
• Transplant Living (www.transplantliving.org)
  To learn more about living organ donation, visit the Transplant Living Web site.
• Becoming a living kidney donor (PDF)
  A question and answer pamphlet from the UCSF Medical Center Transplant Service.
• IHateDialysis.com (www.ihatedialysis.com)
  A Web site created by a patient for patients who have the unfortunate fate of having to live on dialysis.
• National Transplant Assistance Fund (www.transplantfund.org)
  National Transplant Assistance Fund (NTAF) has been a trusted resource in the transplant community for more than 24 years.
• Living Donors Online (www.livingdonorsonline.com)
  The online community for living donors, potential donors, their families, and the medical community.
• LifeSharers (www.lifesharers.org)
  LifeSharers is a non-profit national network of organ donors.
• National Kidney Registry (www.kidneyregistry.org)
  The mission of the National Kidney Registry is to save and improve the lives of people facing kidney failure.

Links to some area hospitals that do kidney transplants (Not intended to be a complete list):

• Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (www.csmc.edu)
• Loma Linda University Medical Center (www.lomalindahealth.org)
• Scripps (www.scripps.org)
• St. Vincent Medical Center (www.stvincentmedicalcenter.com)
• UCLA Medical Center (www.uclahealth.org)
• USC Kidney Transplant Program (www.kidneytransplant.org)

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