To watch segments from 'Giving Life: The Story of Organ Donation', select the video from the Eyewitness News story window at the top of this page.
Almost 4,000 new patients are added to the waiting list each month. On average, 135 people are added to the nation's organ transplant waiting list each day.
Every day, 18 people die while waiting for a life-saving organ transplant.
Last year, more than 14,700 Americans became organ donors: 6,700 living donors and 8,000 deceased donors.
Nearly 10 percent of the patients currently waiting for liver transplants are young people under 18 years of age.
Acceptable organ donors can range in age from newborn to 65 years or more. People who are 65 years of age or older may be acceptable donors, particularly of corneas, skin, bone and for total body donation.
Tissue donation can enhance the lives of more than 50 people. It is now possible to donate a kidney and portion of the liver or lung while still alive.
