APRIL IS NATIONAL DONATE LIFE MONTH

Looking for an act of kindness you can do from home? By registering, your decision to be an organ, eye and tissue donor online, you can give hope to more than 100,000 people currently on the waiting list. Register your decision to be an organ, eye and tissue donor at RegisterMe.org

Observed in April each year since 2003, National Donate Life Month helps to encourage Americans to register as organ, eye and tissue donors and to honor those that have saved lives through the gift of donation.

According to the National Kidney Foundation, someone's kidneys fail every five minutes. There are over 100,000 people on the waitlist, and every 14 minutes another person is added. In California, the average wait time for a kidney from a deceased donor can be 5-10 years or longer and is based on blood type .

Kidneys can come from either deceased or living donors. Because of the shortage of deceased donors, more and more people are considering living donors. By making the voluntary decision to be a living kidney donor, you give a healthy kidney to a person who needs one. All potential donors are medically screened to protect their health and safety. Learn how living kidney donation works by visiting United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS).