Register as a Donor
Research Reveals Minority Support of Donor Registries on the Rise
HOUSTON, July 30, 2010 -- A survey commissioned by Donate Life America revealed an increase in the number of minorities registered as organ, eye and tissue donors. Currently, nearly 90 million people in the United States are designated donors. To find out how to register, visit www.donatelifetexas.org.
Increasing the number of people registered as organ, eye and tissue donors is critical to the more than 107,000 men, women and children awaiting organ transplants and the hundreds of thousands more who could benefit from cornea and tissue transplants. Registering through a donor registry is the only way to ensure if you are a candidate for donation. Your decision is irrevocably honorored.
Of those surveyed who wished to be donors, 78 percent of Caucasians, 77 percent of African Americans, 69 percent of Hispanics and 60 percent of Asian Americans state they have registered on donor registries. Furthermore, increasingly more people, including minorities (72 percent African American, 71 percent Hispanic and 71 percent Asian) want their decision to donate honored, even if a family has different wishes. Still, with minorities comprising 54 percent of those waiting, there is much work to be done.
The nationwide research of 5,100 adults identified several prevailing misconceptions that are shared by not only ethinc minorities, but most Americans:
- 48 percent of people incorrectly believe that in the United States there is a black market where people can buy or sell organs and tissue.
- 28 percent of people mistakenly believe that a brain dead person can recover from his or her injuries.
- 25 percent of people falsely believe that doctors will not try as hard to save their lives in an emergency is they know they are registered donors.
- 16 percent of people are concerned that they will not be able to have regular funerals if they are donors.
As we observe the 14th Annual National Minority Donor Awareness Day, which was first recognized by President Clinton in 1996, we emphasize the importance of getting the facts and increasing the number of donor designations, and thus lives saved.
To learn more about the vital need for organ and tissue donors or to register, visit www.lifegift.org.
