RICHMOND, Va. -- April is Donate Life Month, a time devoted to raising awareness about the lifesaving impact of organ, eye, and tissue donation—and the ongoing need for donors across the country. As one of the nation’s longest‑standing transplant centers, VCU Health Hume-Lee Transplant Center plays a vital role in caring for patients with advanced diseases and those in need of transplantation. In this segment, Dr. Seung Lee, surgical director of liver transplant, shares why organ donation is so important and how you can get involved to help save a life.
April is Donate Life Month. Why is this month so important?
This is a time to honor donors and their families, and to focus on action, as well. Right now, more than 100,000 people in the United States are waiting for a lifesaving organ — and many are right here in Virginia. If you are interested in becoming a donor, visit RegisterMe.org. One donor can save up to eight lives. Because of the generosity of donors, Hume-Lee Transplant Center performed nearly 600 organ transplantations last year. And you can be a living donor, as well.
A lot of people don't realize you can donate a kidney or a part of your liver while you're alive. What is living donation?
If you are healthy, you can donate one kidney and part of your liver to someone in need. You can live a healthy life with one kidney and the liver is an amazing organ that regenerates. The liver can grow back to nearly 100 percent its original size within a few weeks after donation. For a recipient in need, living donation can dramatically shorten their wait time for transplantation and it provides the best outcomes. Hume-Lee is nationally recognized for our living donor liver transplantation and living donor kidney transplantation programs. It really is one of the most powerful ways to save a life.
Why is Hume-Lee considered a leader in transplant surgery?
Hume-Lee cares for some of the most complex patients – many of whom are turned down for transplantation at other centers. We are leading the way in robotic-assisted transplant surgery. Last year, we performed the first robotic living donor liver transplantation in the nation. This year, we performed Virginia’s first living donor kidney transplant using single‑port robotic surgery through a single, five‑centimeter incision. Robotic-assisted surgery provides smaller incisions, faster recovery, less pain and better cosmetic results.
If someone is inspired to be a donor, what is the next step they should take?
The first step is very simple: register to be an organ donor. If you have any interest in living donation, touch base with the Hume-Lee living donor team and they can provide you with more information and next steps. Living donation is amazing, and you don't need to be related to the recipient to donate. Also, many people are donating selflessly to someone they’ve never met before. Hume-Lee has excellent living donor programs, and our goal is to provide minimally invasive, robotic surgery for all living donors who are candidates.
Learn more by visiting vcuhealth.org/transplant or call 804‑828‑2762. You can register as a donor at RegisterMe.org or by using the iPhone Health app.
{*THIS SEGMENT IS SPONSORED BY VCU HEALTH'S HUMME LEE TRANSPLANT CENTER*}
