This National Donate Life Month, The Bird is the Word

Nurse practitioners can get creative to spread the good news about lifesaving organ donations.

As anyone who makes a hobby out of birdwatching can tell you, the bittersweet feeling of watching birds migrate is a crucial component to the joy we feel when they return. While many individual birds may not return from their journeys north or south, the communities continue to make the pilgrimage, year after year.

Donate Life America is channeling the loss and then return of bird colonies to celebrate this year’s National Donate Life Month (NDLM): “Birds are known across many cultures as one of the most welcomed and visible signs of spring. They represent both new beginnings and visits from loved ones who have passed away. The yearly return of birds and their songs offer us a sense of peace and hope.” NDLM has taken place every April since its formation in 2003. NDLM “helps raise awareness about donation, encourages Americans to register as organ, eye and tissue donors and to honor those who have saved lives through the gift of donation.” Read more about NDLM and view resources nurse practitioners (NPs) can utilize to help connect patients with the chance to donate organs and save lives.

Donation Facts

Today in the United States, over 100,000 individuals are hoping to receive a lifesaving organ. More than 86% of these patients need a kidney transplant, and, tragically, 5,600 people die annually while awaiting the transplant that could save their lives. In addition to becoming a donor themselves, NPs can help raise awareness of what types of donations are available for potential donors.

First, it’s important to educate potential donors that there are several types of donations. Many individuals know that they can allow their organs to be donated after they are deceased, but do they know about living donation, pediatric donation and VCA donation? While no person can simultaneously provide all four donations at once, this information about how important donations are to those in need gives an important perspective as to their lifesaving power. In 2023, for example, “more than 1,900 children received lifesaving transplants, matched from nearly 900 pediatric organ donors.”

Many individuals may also not know that while they can give a living donation of a kidney, they can also provide a liver transplant: “A small percentage of liver transplants are completed each year using a portion of a healthy liver from a living donor. Living donation is possible because the liver is the only organ that can regenerate itself.” These options may not even be on a patients’ radar, and it’s important NPs have the tools to encourage potential donors to consider how they can be a part of the lifesaving donation process.

Donate Life America have compiled a helpful infographic to clearly and concisely provide this information to potential donors, which includes statistics about both the need for organ donations and how many lives can be affected by just one donor. On the infographic, potential donors will learn that just one deceased donation can save up to eight lives, restore sight to two individuals and heal 75 others.

Exploding Myths and Misconceptions

While it’s entirely possible that potential donors may approach the donation process with few misconceptions, it is also likely that they have some incomplete or entirely erroneous ideas about what it means to be a donor. An old myth that health care providers will work less hard to save an organ donor than a non-donor is immediately addressed on the infographic under the heading, “Does registering as a donor change my patient care?” The text explains that “No, your life always comes first. Doctors work hard to save every patient’s life, but sometimes there is a complete and irreversible loss of brain function. The patient is declared clinically and legally dead. Only then is donation an option.” Individuals of certain faiths may also believe that organ donation may not be acceptable under their religious law, but Donate Life America states that “All major religions support donation as a final act of compassion and generosity.”

Donate Life America’s handout further clarifies some other points of possible confusion, including if LGBTQ+ individuals are able to donate. “Sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression does not prevent someone from registering as an organ donor. Certain regulations mandated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may affect a person’s eligibility for cornea and tissue donation,” they state. What about potential donors living with HIV, are they also eligible to donate? Yes — thanks to the HOPE Act passed in 2015, “More than 350 lifesaving transplants have been made possible because of the HOPE Act and the generosity of donors and donor families.

Finally, some individuals waiting to receive an organ donation may worry about their chances, believing that the decision to provide an organ may be based on their race, income, gender and more. In response to the question that “Does my social and/or financial status play any part in whether I will receive an organ if I ever need one?” the answer is a succinct “No.” Going further, “A national system matches available organs from the donor with people on the waiting list based on blood type, body size, how sick they are, donor distance, tissue type and time on the waiting list. Race, income, gender, orientation, celebrity and social status are never considered.”

April is an excellent time to start a conversation about organ donation, and to ensure the public has up-to-date, factual information about the process of either donating or receiving an organ. NPs are on the frontlines of care and need to have the latest and most relevant information about the process of organ donation. Like the birds returning each spring, organ donation reminds us that life is a constant process of renewal, and that even in the darkest part of winter — metaphorically for us, literally for our feathered friends — there is always hope of a better and brighter tomorrow.

More Resources Dedicated to Organ Donation

NPs interested in learning more about caring for organ transplant recipients can, for a limited time, access the continuing education (CE) activity “The Primary Care Provider’s Guide to Care Of the Adult Transplant Recipient.” This activity is presented by speaker Terri Allison, DNP, ACNP-BC, FAANP, and “will introduce immunologic principles of solid-organ transplantation and medication regimens used for maintenance immunosuppressive therapy and to treat transplant rejection.” The activity offers 1.37 contact hours of CE; 0.5 of which may be applied towards Pharmacology.

NPs passionate about urology and nephrology may also become a part of AANP’s Urology and Nephrology Community for just $20 dollars a year. Community members gain access to interactive discussions and the latest news, education and information related to urology and nephrology.