Saving Lives and Improving Health Care through Innovation in Organ Donations and Transplants

Saving Lives and Improving Health Care through Innovation in Organ Donations and Transplants

April 4, 2016

There are currently more than 120,000 people on the waiting list for an organ in the United States. Twenty-two people a day die waiting.
But today, we’re taking one step forward to change that. In honor of National Donate Life Month, the President issued a Proclamation that solidifies his Administration’s commitment to shortening the organ waiting list, emphasizing that “across government, industry, academia, private organizations, and the medical and philanthropic communities, we must all do our part to lift up donors, donor families, and patients by supporting efforts to shorten the organ waiting list.”
Today’s Proclamation builds on the action this Administration has taken to improve outcomes for individuals waiting for organ transplants and support living donors.
Each year, approximately 6,000 Americans make the selfless decision to become a living organ donor, facilitating life-saving kidney and liver transplants. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, individuals who have donated organs have access to health insurance without worrying whether their donation will be considered a pre-existing condition.
LEARN MORE: Saving Lives and Improving Health Care through Innovation in Organ Donations and Transplants