Gift of Life Donor Program | Organ Donation Saves Lives

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Gift of Life Stories

Read these inspiring stories about how organ and tissue donation and transplantation touches and transforms lives.

Carrie’s Story – A girl, her guitar, and a promise

Tissue Recipient

After being diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder, Carrie received the gift of donated tendon grafts that allowed her to live a normal life.

Young Family Grateful for their Gift of Life

Living Donation

Paired kidney exchange enables couple to give and receive the gift of life.

Life After Loss: Anthony’s Story

Organ Donor

Donor Mom shares the story of her son Anthony, who in his passing gave the gift of life to others.

A Match Made in Pulmonary Rehab

Gift of Life Stories

Couple meets, falls in love and gets married after bonding over cystic fibrosis and organ donation.

Onyi – Sprinting Ahead After Transplant

Liver Recipient

Onyi received a life-saving liver transplant as an infant and it has never held her back from living a normal, healthy life.

Mother Gives Son the Gift of Life Twice

Living Donation

Maura Brighter participated in a paired exchange and donated a kidney to a stranger son her son Kevin could receive a kidney transplant.

The Heart of a Champion: Derek’s Story

Heart Recipient

Derek Fitzgerald is the first cancer surviving heart transplant recipient to complete a full Ironman.

Recipient Forms Bond with Donor’s Mother

Gift of Life Stories

Arlinda Griffin received a kidney and pancreas transplant that saved her life. Today, her hero’s mother has become like family.

Learn About Organ & Tissue Donation

How Does Organ Donation Work?

Waiting for a Transplant

Living Donation

Writing to Your Donor Family

About Gift of Life

How Does Organ and Tissue Donation Work?

Gift of Life coordinates the recovery of organs and tissues for transplant. The complex organ and tissue donation and transplant process involves collaborating with highly skilled medical professionals at many different levels.

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The Waiting List

The first step of the transplant journey is the national waiting list managed by The United Network for Organ Sharing. Currently, there are more than 114,000 people waiting for life-saving organs because there are not enough donor organs for everyone who needs them.

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Living Donation

Thousands of lives are saved each year thanks to the unselfish generosity of living donation, which is an increasingly viable option for patients awaiting transplantation.

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Writing to Donor Families

As a transplant recipient, you may want to write to the family of your donor to share information about your renewed life and to express your gratitude. Here is a resource to aid in finding the right words.

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About Gift of Life Donor Program

Gift of Life Donor Program is the largest organ procurement organization (OPO) in the United States, serving more than 11 million people across the eastern half of Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware. We help and heal lives by coordinating the recovery and distribution of organs and tissues used in life-saving and life-enhancing transplants.

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Our Impact in 2019

664

Organ Donors

1,865

Organs Transplanted

1,305

Musculoskeletal Donors

2,234

Cornea Donors

News & Updates

York County boy gets new heart as transplants resume in Philadelphia

When Sarah Reesey saw Philadelphia’s 215 area code pop up during her morning hospital rounds earlier this month, her first thought was, “Oh, no, something is wrong.”

Organ Transplants Almost Back to Pre-COVID Levels

There is good news for the 5,000 people awaiting life-saving organ transplants in our region. The Gift of Life says transplants are back on pace after dipping early in the pandemic.

This ER doctor and heart transplant survivor wants you to wear a mask

CNN interviews Dr. Alin Gragossian, ER doctor and heart transplant recipient about Covid-19 and the importance of protecting at-risk populations.

Transplants Continue In Philadelphia Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Stephanie Stahl of CBS 3 sheds light on the work of Gift of Life Donor Program to save lives through organ and tissue donation amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

Gift of Life Donor Program Tips for Coping With Grief

These are unprecedented times. People across the country are adjusting to major disruptions in their daily lives as a result of COVID-19.

COVID-19 Resource: If You Are at Higher Risk

If you are at higher risk for serious illness from COVID-19 because of your age or because you have a serious long-term health problem, it is extra important for you to take actions to reduce your risk of getting sick with the disease.

COVID-19 Resource: Checklist for Individuals and Families

As a family, you can plan and make decisions now that will protect you and your family during a COVID-19 outbreak. Creating a household plan can help protect your health and the health of those you care about.

12th Consecutive Year Leading U.S. in Organ Donation

Region Again Breaks Two U.S. Records, Showing Extraordinary Generosity and Clinical Leadership: Most Organ Donors and Life-Saving Transplants

Penn Medicine Birth Marks Milestone in Uterus Transplant

Birth is Penn’s First as Part of its Innovative Uterus Transplant Clinical Trial, and Second in the United States Following Deceased Donor Transplant

Gift of Life Donor Program Honors Donors at Ceremony

Each year, Gift of Life Donor Program invites families of organ and tissue donors to attend Life and Legacy Celebrations to honor their lives and their choice to be a donor.

Two Families, Two Faiths: Joined by Ryan’s life-saving legacy

After tragedy brought them together, Carol and Kareem realized they shared a special bond through their faith and the life-saving legacy of organ donation.

Cynthia London, Celebrating 22 Years of Service

Gift of Life is celebrating the contributions of volunteer ambassador, board member, and donor mom Cynthia London. Cynthia became connected with Gift of Life 22 years ago when her son Sipho became an organ donor.

Donor Mom Dawn Ortiz Shares Story of Son Rickey

Meet donor mom Dawn Ortiz, whose son Richard checked the box to be a donor when he went for his driver’s permit as a teen. Sadly, he lost his life at the age of 21, but his mother says her son ‘lives on in other ways.’