Ohio’s House District 24 & Organ Donation
Unprecedented generosity of Ohioans in 2021
In Central and Southeastern Ohio, 418 lives were saved in 2021 through organ donation and transplantation. Other statistics include:
Columbus Man Waits for a Heart
Jermayne Harris of Columbus has always been active. As a teenager, he ran track and was proud to quarterback his high school football team. However, at 26 years old he contracted a virus that severely damaged his heart.
Although he manages a food truck with his father and recently got married, Jermayne’s activities are limited by the left ventricular assist device (LVAD) he’s connected to 24/7 that keeps his heart pumping while he waits for a transplant.
He has been on the national transplant waiting list for more than two years at The Cleveland Clinic – waiting for a second chance at life through the gift of organ donation.
Read more about Jermayne’s wait for a new heart.
Items of Note About Donation
District 24 Donor Registration Rates
Nearly 60 percent of Ohioans are registered organ, eye and tissue donors. In the United States, 50% of Americans are registered donors. 58% of the constituents in District 24 (Franklin County) are registered donors. This is above the national average and very near the state’s average.
Fact Sheet, Stats and Service Area
- Ohio Organ Procurement Organizations
- The national transplant waiting list for a lifesaving organ transplant is rising at an alarming rate, with more than 105,000 individuals currently on the list.
- In Ohio, more than 3,100 people – approximately 700 in Central Ohio – are waiting for an organ transplant, and thousands more are waiting for tissue and corneal transplants.
- Approximately 20 times each day a man, woman or child dies for lack of an available organ. Once every 48 hours, an Ohioan dies waiting.
- In the United States, 41,354 organ transplants were performed in 2021 and more than 1.75 million tissue transplants were performed.
A New Way to Register Donors in 2022!
Beginning October 1, 2022, Ohioans can now register to be an organ, eye and tissue donor when they renew their vehicle registration at the BMV!
HB21 instructs the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to ask the donation registration questions with all new and renewed licenses or registrations. The bill also increases the amount license-seekers are asked to voluntarily donate to the Second Chance Trust Fund from $1 to $2. And it increases the annual contribution for the “Donate Life” license plate from $5 to $15.
How Does An Ohioan Register As A Donor?
Ohioans may declare their decision to become a donor by registering at the BMV or online.
The Ohio Donor Registry is an individual’s first-person authorization to donate the gift of life at the time of their death, if possible, through organ, eye and tissue donation.
Lifeline of Ohio encourages everyone to talk to their loved ones about their donation decision. When the next-of-kin knows their loved one’s decision at the time of death, it is one of the most helpful steps a grieving family can take to deal with its loss.
Who is Lifeline of Ohio?
Lifeline of Ohio is an independent, non-profit organization that promotes and coordinates the donation of human organs and tissue for transplantation. Lifeline of Ohio serves 97 hospitals and facilities in 38 counties in Ohio and two in West Virginia and is designated as an organ procurement organization through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Resources from the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations
Ohio Heart Recipient Advocates on Capitol Hill
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine Encourages Ohioans to Register
Donor parents Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and First Lady Fran DeWine share this very special message encouraging all Ohioans to register their decision to be an organ, eye and tissue donor. Their daughter Becky was a tissue and cornea donor who healed many through her gifts of donation.