Larkin Advocates For Organ Donation

Senator Bill Larkin (R-C, Cornwall-on-Hudson) is teaming up with other state and national leaders in urging New Yorkers to learn more about organ and tissue donation, and to add their names to the New York State Organ and Tissue Donor Registry.

"Nationally, the current waiting list for organs has reached over 90,000 people," said Senator Larkin. "Every 13 minutes another person is added to the list and an average of 17 people die each day waiting. In New York alone, the number waiting for a transplant is over 8,000. It is critical for New Yorkers to improve the donation rate. By donating at the time of their death, a single person may help as many as 50 people."

In 2004, just 398 New Yorkers donated lifesaving organs at the time of their death, an additional 541 were living donors. Nationally in 2004, 7,150 people donated at the time of their deaths and 7,004 people became living donors in that year. Living donors now represent comparable numbers to those donating at the time of their death. There were over 3,000 tissue and eye donors in 2004, which resulted in approximately 15,000 life saving or enhancing transplants in New York.

New Yorkers can make a difference by enrolling in the Donor Registry and sharing their decision with their family. Enrollment can be done online or when renewing a drivers’ license or non-driver ID. The Registry is a way to ensure that an individual’s wishes about donation will be known at the time of their death. There are over 19 million New Yorkers, but just over 1 million have enrolled.

New Yorkers interested in becoming a donor can sign up for the Registry by calling 1-866-NYDONOR (1-866-693-6667).