2019 Most Successful Year Ever Recorded for Organ and Tissue Donation in Colorado and Wyoming

DENVER, Jan. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Donor Alliance, the federally designated non-profit organization that facilitates organ and tissue donation in Colorado and most of Wyoming, recorded the most successful year the region has ever seen in 2019, helping save the lives of 596 people through organ donation and save and heal thousands more through tissue donation.

The generosity of the donors and their families in Colorado and Wyoming helped to shatter several records, including:

    --  191 organ donors saving the lives of 596 people through organ donation
        and transplantation.
    --  2,118 tissue donors providing bone and skin grafts to save and heal the
        lives of tens of thousands of recipients in need.

In 2019, Donor Alliance facilitated more organ transplants than ever by 19%, exceeding the previous high set in 2018, and a 29% increase since 2013. In addition, the organization reported a 21% increase in tissue donors over the previous record with 2,118 tissue donors, including 1,950 skin donors and 127 heart valve donors. Through procedures like skin grafting and reconstructive surgeries, these lifesaving and healing donations will help thousands of people regain mobility and lead active lives after disease or trauma.

"Each day, our staff works tirelessly to save the 2,000 lives in our region waiting for a lifesaving transplant while also supporting the families of donors that lean on us to honor their loved one's heroic decision to become a donor," said Sue Dunn, Donor Alliance president and CEO. "Achieving our simple, yet powerful mission is made possible by the incredible generosity of the Colorado and Wyoming residents that have signed up to join the organ and tissue donor registry. This support, combined with our strong hospital partnerships and mission-driven culture, helped to save and heal more lives in our region than ever before."

More than one million residents signed up to become donors in 2019, with 1,003,817 in Colorado and 88,922 names in Wyoming being added to the organ, eye and tissue donor registries. The two states continue to maintain some of the highest donor designation rates, or percentage of individuals joining the state donor registries, in the country. Colorado reached number one in the nation in 2018 with a 69% DDR and Wyoming set another record this year at 63%, the highest rate ever for the state. Both states far surpass the national average of 49%, according to Donate Life America.

In addition to the incredible local support for donation, the progress made this year is also a result of a number of process improvements made through the organization's decade-long performance excellence journey, which culminated with a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 2018. These advancements included better processes to identify and refer potential organ donors after cardiac death and streamlined communications with hospital partners to improve the timely notification of potential organ and tissue donors. As medical advances help eligibility criteria expand, medical professionals are also able to maximize organ and tissue donation more than ever before, allowing more people to give the gift of life.

Despite the year's incredible achievements for donation and transplantation across the region, nearly 2,000 people in the area continue to wait for a lifesaving transplant. With these patients in mind, Donor Alliance continues to tirelessly educate the public on the need for donation and collaborate closely with 115 acute care hospitals, four transplant centers, division of motor vehicles and other partners throughout the two-state area. For more information about donation, or to sign up as an organ, eye and tissue donor, please visit DonateLifeColorado.org or DonateLifeWyoming.org.

Organ and Tissue Donation by the Numbers



       
              ORGAN Donation       2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

    ---


       Local Organ Donors               148  109  134  139  144  160  191

    ---


       Kidney Transplants               241  176  226  233  246  268  325

    ---


       Liver Transplants                109   72   79   84   88   98  119

    ---


       Heart Transplants                 43   37   54   54   43   59   63

    ---


       Lung Transplants                  45   42   59   44   24   52   72

    ---


       Pancreas Transplants              24    9   10    8    6   11   15

    ---


       Small Intestine Transplant         1    1    0    1    0    1    2

    ---


       Total Local Organs Transplanted  463  337  428  424  407  489  596

    ---



       
                TISSUE Donation  2013  2014  2015  2016  2017  2018  2019

    ---


       Local Tissue Donors          1,177 1,590 1,674 1,710 1,752 1,684 2,118

    ---


       Bone Donors                    660   830   911   822   832   902 1,109

    ---


       Skin Donors                  1,076 1,386 1,401 1,320 1,503 1,512 1,950

    ---


       Heart Valve Donors             111   114   117   168   140    95   127

    ---


       Joint Restoration Donors       106   112   119    89    97    90   121

    ---

About Donor Alliance
Donor Alliance is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to saving lives through organ and tissue donation and transplantation. As the organ procurement organization and accredited tissue bank for Colorado and most of Wyoming, Donor Alliance serves more than 5.8 million residents and more than 100 hospitals. The organization adheres to medical, regulatory and ethical standards: respectfully working with the families of organ and tissue donors, maintaining partnerships with hospitals, educating residents on the lifesaving benefits of donation and inspiring them to sign up on the state's donor registry. Colorado and Wyoming boast some of the highest rates of donor registration in the country, which directly translates to more lives saved and healed through organ and tissue transplantation.

Donor Alliance is one of 58 federally designated organizations of its kind in the United States, and is also an American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB) accredited tissue bank. For more information visit DonorAlliance.org or the Donate Life Colorado or Donate Life Wyoming Facebook pages.



     
                Media Contacts:



     Courtney Brunkow                           
     Andrea Smith



     The Fletcher Group                         
     Donor Alliance



     303.717.9575                               
     303.370.5683



     
                courtney@fletchergroupllc.com 
     
                asmith@donoralliance.org

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SOURCE Donor Alliance