Nevada Donor Network Announces Unprecedented Growth In Organ & Tissue Donation

LAS VEGAS, May 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Nevada Donor Network is proud to announce record breaking increases in all aspects of organ and tissue donation. Our staff facilitated donations from 75 organ donors, 296 tissue donors and 546 cornea donors during 2012. The 42% year over year rise in donation activity resulted in a 37% increase in the number of lifesaving organs for transplantation. The record growth continued during the first quarter of 2013 with a 154% increase in the number of donors and a 90% increase in the number of organs transplanted compared to 2012. Similar growth patterns were also seen in the number of tissue and cornea donors for the same periods.

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The most significant increase occurred in transplanted intestines, which jumped 400% from 2011 to 2012. Transplanted lungs increased by 140%, kidneys 30% and livers 24%. Nevada Donor Network President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Ferreira says the growth can be attributed to a number of factors. "An overall improvement in the attitudes regarding donation in the community, coupled with improvements in our operational systems for capturing donation potential in collaboration with our hospital partners has been a marked success. I am very proud of our team, hospital partners and community advocates who have helped contribute to such a successful year of meaningful change with so many lives saved and improved."

Also driving Nevada Donor Network's growth is our increasing organ donation authorization rate, which rose from 48% in early 2012 to 69% by the end of the year. During the first quarter of 2013, the authorization rate continued to rise to an all-time high of 82%. Ferreira says, "These results have come thanks to the altruistic generosity of our heroic donors and their families. With more than 540 Nevada residents among the 117,000 people awaiting lifesaving transplants in the nation, this level of growth is extremely important to our community and the country."

The Nevada Donor Network is a federally designated not-for-profit agency serving more than 80% of the state. NDN is dedicated to the management and recovery of donated organs and tissues, as well as education and promotion of organ, eye and tissue donation in Nevada.

www.nvdonor.org | www.facebook.com/NevadaDonorNetwork | www.twitter.com/NVDonor

Contact: Kate McCullough,
(702) 796-9600 | [email protected]

SOURCE The Nevada Donor Network