Valentine's Day Becomes National Organ Donor Day

The Center for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE) hopes that this Valentine’s Day, people considering becoming an organ donor and giving a true gift of affection.

Misty Enos, Associate Director of Community Outreach for CORE says that the number of organ donations needed remains high, but the list of providers is still very low.

“Last year we transplanted a little bit over 27,000 organs but over 110,000 people are waiting,” Enos says. “So the demand is very high, the need is very high, but the list of people who are actually registered as donors or who say yes is actually pretty low.”

Enos encourages those considering becoming an organ donor to do the research and educate themselves about the reality of donation. She asks the people on the fence to imagine if the person in need of a donation was a close relative and what you would want others to do.

“For me I look at my son, my husband, my mother, my brothers and sisters, and I think to myself if there was ever a time where their lives depended on a lifesaving organ transplant, what decision would I want my family to make?” Enos says.

Only 44 percent of people choose to be organ donors in the state of Pennsylvania and Enos says that anyone interested in becoming an organ donor should visit www.donatelife-pa.org and register using the PA State Donor Registry run through the DMV. Another method would be including your decision to be an organ donor in a living will.