This is Donate Life Month, when Iowans are encouraged to sign up on their driver’s licenses to donate organs, eyes and tissue.
Heather Butterfield, spokeswoman for the Iowa Donor Network, says it’s a time to highlight the critical need for donors, to shine a light on those who are on waiting lists, to honor those who’ve donated in the past, and to celebrate those who’ve received organs through transplants.
“Last year was a record-breaking year for us here in Iowa, in terms of the number of generous donors saying ‘yes’ to donation,” Butterfield says. “We had over 1,000 tissue donors, we had over 100 organ donors that gave hundreds of life-saving organs for transplant, which is incredible.”
Nearly 64-percent of Iowa adults are already registered donors, and she encourages the rest to sign up.
“The easiest way for people to say ‘yes’ is simply to go online to our website, IowaDonorNetwork.org,” Butterfield says. “If you don’t already have the word ‘DONOR’ on your license, you can sign up there. It takes less than three minutes to register and you can save a life.”
The transplant wait list is long. She says there are more than 100,000 people nationwide in need of a life-saving organ transplant, including more than 600 Iowans. The Iowa Donor Network is marking a milestone this year with its 30th anniversary.
“Since 1994, we’ve had 16,000 tissue donors, over 1,600 organ donors,” Butterfield says, “and through the gifts that Iowans have given, we’ve been able to transplant more than 6,000 life-saving organs.”
National Donate Life Month also acknowledges the selfless act of donor families, who, in moments of grief, choose to give the gift of life to others.
(Additional reporting by Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)