Beth Bradley talks about her experience as a heart transplant recipient in honor of American Heart Month and National Donor Day, which was celebrated on Feb. 14. She is joined by Tania Houle from LifeChoice Donor Services.
Below are some facts about organ transplant from Houle. For more information visit www.lifechoiceopo.org.
- Currently, there are more than 120,000 men, women and children in the country in need of a lifesaving transplant.
- Largely due to the rarity of donation opportunities, only about 28,000 organs are transplanted each year.
- As a result, 18 candidates die each day for lack of a donor.
- Although 91 percent of eligible donors in Connecticut are aware of organ donation, only 41 percent are registered donors. The national average is 45 percent and Montana leads the country with 82 percent of eligible donors registered.