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Tissue Donation Restores Quality of Life for Thousands
Tissue Donation Restores Quality of Life For Thousands
Houston, TX (Sept. !0, 2010) -- Each year thousands of lives are enhanced through the gift of tissue donation. A blind person is given the ability to see. A star athlete returns to the football field, basketball court or baseball diamond. A child born with a congenital heart defect has hope for a healthy future.
"One tissue donor has the ability to save or enhance the lives of more than 50 people," said Mark Roth, director of tissue recovery services at LifeGift. "Like organ transplants, tissue transplants offer patients a new chance at healthy, productive, normal lives and return them to their families, friends and communities."
Gifts of tissue donation include the following:
Bone -- Used in a variety of ways, including the reconstruction of joints that have been damaged by arthritis, restoration of function following traumatic injury and replacement of bone devastated by cancer
Connective tissue (tendons and ligaments) -- Used to repair many sports-related injuries, including torn ACLs
Eyes -- Used to restore sight for someone who cannot see due to damaged corneas
Heart valves -- Used to help restore health in adults and children suffering from congenital heart defects
Skin -- Used to help burn victims and reconstructive surgeries, such as repair of the urinary tract, bladder, vocal chords and reconstruction following breast cancer surgery
Veins -- Used to re-establish circulation for diabetic patients facing amputation due to arterial insufficiency
One can become a tissue donor through the Glenda P. Dawson Donate Life - Texas Registry, the official organ and tissue registry for the state of Texas. The registry can be accessed in several ways:
1. Electronically via www.DonateLifeTexas.org
2. In person at the Department of Public Safety (DPS) when renewing or obtaining a driver's license/ID.
3. Through the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), formerly TxDOT, when renewing a vehicle registration
4. By calling LifeGift at 713-523-GIFT and requesting a paper form in the mail.
For more information about organ and tissue donation, visit www.lifegift.org.
