The success rate for organ transplants (hearts, kidneys, livers, lungs, pancreas and intestines) average 80 to 90 percent. Of the nearly 110,000 people in the United States who need organ transplants, approximately 7,500 are in the greater New York metropolitan area.

The success rate for various types of tissue transplants, including bone, skin and heart valves, is over 90 percent. Thousands of people await tissues and whole eyes or corneas.

Donation can only occur after the death of a patient is declared by physicians who legally are not affiliated with donation. So anytime you are in a hospital, doctors will always do all they can to save your life.

A person’s financial background or celebrity status does not determine who receives a transplant. What matters are the severity of illness, time spent waiting for an organ, and blood type.

All major religions support donation. They endorse donation as being the highest humanitarian act.

If you are a donor, your family won’t have to pay any extra bills. They are never responsible for costs related to donation.

All donors are treated with the utmost dignity and respect. Donation takes place under the same strict sterile conditions as any medical procedure.

A donor’s body is never disfigured and donation does not interfere with funeral arrangements. Open casket services are possible.

In the U.S., it is illegal to buy and sell organs. The system for matching donor organs and potential recipients is regulated by the Federal Government.

To legally give consent to being a donor, enroll in the New York State Donate Life Registry. This confidential and secure database is administered by the New York State Department of Health. You must be at least 18 years old to register.