Did you know that one American dies nearly every hour waiting for a transplant, yet a single organ donor can save as many as eight lives?  As of January 2019, there are over 113,000 patients waiting for organs to become available and another person is added to that list every ten minutes according to the U.S. Government Information on Organ Donation and Transportation. April is National Donate Life Month and the San Juan Regional Medical Center family urges you to consider giving the gift of life by becoming an organ donor at www.registerme.org.

San Juan Regional Medical Center is committed to saving lives through organ donation. By partnering with the New Mexico Hospital Association and New Mexico Donor Services, we are better able to educate staff, patients, visitors, and community members about the critical need for organ, eye, and tissue donors. By doing so, we can help increase the number of potential donors on New Mexico’s donor registry. This past year San Juan Regional Medical Center was among a select group of hospitals nationwide recognized for promoting enrollment in state organ donor registries. The campaign, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), has added more than 443,000 donor enrollments to state registries nationwide.

“As a nurse, I see patients in need every day. Our collaboration with the New Mexico Hospital Association and New Mexico Donor Services helps to ensure we’re doing all we can to work together and change as many lives as possible through the selfless gift that is organ donation,” said Suzanne Smith, San Juan Regional Medical Center’s Chief Nursing Officer.

Learn more about becoming a donor at  www.donatelife.net and check out this informative video quiz from the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.