About Donation
Questions about donation? No problem.
Organ, eye and tissue donations bring help, hope, and healing to thousands of people and families each year, changing lives forever. And yet Lifebanc knows there are many common questions about donation, along with misconceptions about what registering as a donor means for you and your family.
Let us help you understand the process and the incredible positive difference you can make.
7 Donation Truths
- Registering to be an organ, eye, and tissue donor saves lives, and it’s the right thing to do. If your closest family member or best friend needed a life-saving transplant, you’d hope for every effort to make it happen, and do anything you could to assist. Every hopeful recipient is that irreplaceable person in someone’s life – and that’s why so many thousands of people are registered donors. Taking five minutes to sign up is a simple action that can mean years of positive difference.
- In most cases, being a donor will not affect your preferred funeral arrangements. Organs and tissues are recovered by a team of skilled clinicians and in a manner that respects a family or donor’s funeral wishes, including an open-casket viewing.
- Being an organ, eye and tissue donor does not increase your medical or funeral expenses. Lifebanc takes responsibility for all costs related to the recovery of a donor’s life-saving organs or tissues.
A single person can save the lives of eight others in dire need of vital organ transplants by donating kidneys, lungs, liver, heart, pancreas, and intestines. Eight chances for a brighter tomorrow; eight families given new hope.- Much needed support is provided to donor families during a very difficult time by a Lifebanc staff member. Support, guidance, and understanding is provided during the donation journey. We work with the families closely and provide reassurance, updates on the donor care, and what to expect in the coming hours.
Tissue and cornea donors can save and heal the lives of up to 75 people! Tissue donors save the lives of burn victims through skin grafts, repair faulty heart valves, give sight to the blind, and restore mobility to those who have suffered injuries. Dozens of lives can enjoy an improved quality and more time with friends and families with the simple decision to donate.- Lifebanc provides care for donor families, even after the donation is complete. Lifebanc offers a wide array of grief support services at no cost to the families of donors. Lifebanc also coordinates correspondence between donor families and recipients.
Donation Facts and Figures
1,600
People are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant in Northeast Ohio
437
Northeast Ohio organ donors saved the lives of 437 people in 2021
120
People died waiting for the organ they needed or became too sick to transfer in our area last year