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Donating birth tissue through the First Gift Birth Tissue Donation Program can change someone’s life! The birth tissue donation process is safe and painless. It does not impact how you deliver your baby or the care you and your baby receive. To find out more, visit us online at saving-sight.org
Cord Blood Banking gives parents the ability to save a life. A newborn’s cord blood stem cells have the potential to provide a lifesaving treatment for others. There are two types of banks that store cord blood, public and private. Visit the cord blood banking website to learn more.
There is no substitute for blood. One pint of blood can save several lives. Red blood cells carry oxygen to the body’s organs and tissues. Platelets promote blood clotting. Cancer, transplant, trauma, and surgery patients are a few reasons why blood donation is important and it does save lives. To learn more about blood donation contact one of the following:
Patients with leukemia, lymphoma and other life-threatening diseases may be treated by a bone marrow transplant from a bone marrow donor. Bone marrow transplant is a type of living donation. For many of these patients, a transplant may be the best and only hope of a cure.
In addition, visit the following sites to learn more about being a bone marrow donor and bone marrow transplants.
Corneal transplants are the oldest and most successful tissue transplant procedure. Many diseases can cause the cornea (the eye’s front ‘windowpane’) to become cloudy resulting in poor vision or total blindness.
Kidney transplants are the most common type of organ transplant in the United States. They are also the organ most often donated by living people.
When people donate kidneys, either while they are alive or after they die, it can save lives. Kidneys can stop working because of diseases like polycystic kidney disease, diabetes, or high blood pressure.
A kidney transplant can stop the need for dialysis and help people live longer. If you are on dialysis and have decided to get a kidney transplant, request the My Transplant Ready Workbook from the Missouri Kidney Program.
Kidney paired donation (KPD) is a transplant option for candidates who have a living donor who is medically able, but cannot donate a kidney to their intended candidate because they are incompatible (i.e., poorly matched). Check at your transplant facility for the opportunity for a paired donation, if your living donor isn’t a match. Additional information including a brochure and KPD related videos can be found at https://unos.org/transplant/kidney-paired-donation/.
The liver can begin to fail for many reasons, including cancer and hepatitis. Liver transplants are life-saving. To learn more about liver donation visit one of the following organization pages:
Living donation is the act of donating while you are alive. The first living transplant was a kidney transplant between twin brothers in 1954. Living donors can give one kidney, one liver lobe, a lung or part of a lung, part of the pancreas, or part of the intestines. Learn more on the Living Donation page.
Lung transplants are performed on patients who have a diseased or failing lung. The transplant replaces the diseased or failing lung with a healthy lung. To learn more visit:
With a pancreas that does not work well, it cannot produce insulin the body’s cells need to grow and function, and can lead to diabetes, hardening of the blood vessels and cause a heart attack, kidney failure or a stroke. To learn about what the pancreas does, watch this video.
Pancreas donation is the donation of a segment of the pancreas or the whole organ. While it is possible for a living donor to donate a portion of the pancreas, most pancreas donation transplants involve the whole organ from a deceased donor.
To learn more about tissue donation, visit one of the following links:
There are several Willed Body donation programs in Missouri. These are programs for donating your body after death. Donating your body to a research institution can bring hope to future generations by:
Donating your whole body is different than being an organ donor. To donate your body, you must reach out to an institution that takes whole-body donations. Each willed body donation program differs slightly. It is best to call and prearrange any gift of body donation to science, research or education.
Questions to ask when choosing a facility:
The following institutions have whole-body donation programs.