We first learned of someone using t-shirts to advertise for an organ donor from a story in a local newspaper. Some college age kids saw a man walking around in a Costco with a t-shirt that read, “Kidney donor needed, Type B+, Ask me how.” They were moved by this and asked the man to tell them about his story, and what happened next is amazing.
The man in need of the kidney had the t-shirts made for himself and members of his family when he had already been on the donor waiting list for a year. A post of him wearing the t-shirt with the request for a matching donor was shared on Twitter by the college kids and it has been retweeted 240,000 times at the date of this post. The collective efforts to spread awareness certainly made an impact and the gentleman has had many people reach out to see how they can help.
Although the angle of wearing a t-shirt is unique, the need for organ donors is not. We at DesignAShirt were inspired by this story and being custom t-shirt printers, we want to help where we can. We will offer up to five free organ donor t-shirts for you and members of your family to bring about awareness with the hope of finding an organ donor match. Please contact our customer service reps and read more details here.
Helping to further awareness of organ donation in a broader scope is another goal we hope to achieve through organ donor t-shirt giveaways. The necessity for organ donors is something we’re all aware of but rarely do we actually look at the stats or comprehend the challenges individuals and their families face.
Kidney donations have the highest demand but at any given time there are 116,000+ people on the waiting list for organ donations in the U.S. alone. These include liver, heart, lung, pancreas, intestines as well as muscle and tissues. The demand grows steadily every year while the number of willing donors does not.
A striking number of people believe in organ donation, 95%, but only 54% of people have opted in as potential organ donors. With 20 people dying each day while awaiting a donor, it’s a sobering statistic.
Myths surrounding organ donation may be one of the culprits that prevent people who actually support the idea of being an organ donor from registering. Some of these myths include age or medical factors causing automatic exclusion. According to OrganDonor.gov, the key issue is the health of the organ.
Even for people that do register, only 3 in 1000 will actually meet all the stringent requirements and be a match for someone on the waiting list. Fortunately there is a system in place for matching patients with donors created by . They have a database where details of patients and potential donors are kept to streamline the time sensitive process when an opportunity arises.United Network for Organ Sharing
While great sadness comes from the loss of a loved one, the gift of life that comes through organ donation can mean a new era of happiness for someone else’s family.
Not all organ donation scenarios require the donor to be deceased. There is a living donation process that can save lives through kidney donation and partial lung and liver, as well as tissue donations. Some of which can either regenerate or provide the donor normal function post-operation.
If you know of someone in need of an organ donation, please share this story with them. We sincerely hope through the gift of organ donor request t-shirts we can make a profound difference and be a small part in the continuance of someone’s life story.