NATIONAL DONATE LIFE MONTH-FLORIDA- SHANDS HEALTHCARE ENCOURAGES TO BECOME LIVE-SAVING ORGAN AND TISSUE DONORS

Give the gift of a lifetime: Register with Donate Life Florida

Joshua Abbott, a past lung-transplant patient at Shands at UF, championed the cause of organ and tissue donation by sharing the need for donors with the community and with the Florida Legislature.Learn more about Joshua.

The Donate Life! Campaign encourages Shands HealthCare patients and employees to become life-saving organ and tissue donors. With more than 100,000 people on the national organ transplant waiting list — 3,500 of them in Florida — the need is tremendous. By working together, Shands patients and employees can make a difference in people’s lives.

Becoming an organ or tissue donor has never been easier. Simply go toDonateLifeFlorida.org and sign up.

“The Donate Life Florida Web site gives individuals and families the freedom to make informed decisions about tissue and organ donation,” said Michael Johnson, LCSW, Shands at the University of Florida Patient and Family Resources case manager. “It brings clarity to the donation process and explains how this important decision can save lives.”

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The Joshua Abbott Organ and Tissue Donor Registry was created in honor of Joshua Abbott, a past lung-transplant patient at Shands at the University of Florida. Abbott championed the cause of organ and tissue donation by sharing the need for donors with the community and with the Florida Legislature. He became an organ recipient at age 29 and an organ donor at age 30. Abbot died in 2006, 11 months after receiving his transplant, due to complications from cystic fibrosis.

Abbott was critically ill for many years, and if his wait for a transplant had been shorter, it is possible he would be alive today. In his honor, his parents continue to inform others about the need for life-saving transplants.

If you are already an organ donor, visit DonateLifeFlorida.org and enroll in the new online registry. The registry allows you to create a donor profile and document a decision that only you can change.

If you are not ready to make a decision about organ and tissue donation, please consider these facts:

• One organ donor can save up to eight lives.
• One tissue donor can enhance the lives of dozens more.
• Each day, 18 people die in the United States due to the lack of donor organs.

Shands HealthCare is committed to saving lives by promoting organ and tissue donation.