The coronavirus on Smart Talk Thursday: Organ donations falling, a community fund for non-profits in need, and The Coronavirus Diaries on WITF-TV

At any given time, there are about 100-thousand people waiting for an organ transplant. every eight minutes another person is added to the waiting list. 

Wait times for transplants can vary, with the average time frame between three to five years – if you are fortunate. A little more than 50 percent of people on the waiting list receive an organ within that time frame.

Now, people needing transplants must contend with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. It has created a worse situation where there just aren’t nearly enough donor organs available.

Rick Hasz is the Gift of Life Donor Program’s vice president of clinical services and he joins Smart Talk on Thursday to spotlight the shortages. He is joined by Geisinger kidney and liver transplant surgeon Dr. Michael Marvin, MD, along with Sarah Reesey, a Lancaster nurse and mother whose son is waiting for a heart transplant.

Listen to the full interview here!

Consider saying YES to saving lives. Register to be an organ donor today.