News
Record Number of Hearts Donated in 2022
March 9, 2023
New Mexicans Save Hundreds of Lives through Organ Donation
Albuquerque, NM – February 14th, is not only a day to celebrate love, it’s National Donor Day, and New Mexicans can be especially proud of their selfless generosity.
2022 was another banner year for organ donation in our state. 85 donor heroes resulted in 203 transplantable organs and hundreds of lives saved.
We also experienced a record number of hearts donated last year. 28 donor heroes gave their hearts to help save others across the nation. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in New Mexico according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
More than 8,000 tissue grafts were recovered from 495 tissue donors which will help with heart valve replacements, skin grafts for burn patients, and life-changing bone grafts.
Nationally, 2022 was also a record-breaking year for donation and transplantation. In September 2022, the United States celebrated 1 million organ transplants since the first successful kidney transplant in 1954.
“New Mexicans have huge hearts,” states Wayne Dunlap, Executive Director of New Mexico Donor Services. “Their willingness to save others is unmatched, and we are extremely proud of our community and team. When you become a registered organ donor, you save lives.”
National Donor Day started in 1998 and celebrates all types of donations, not only organ eye, and tissue, but also blood, platelets and marrow.
105,000 people are currently on the national organ transplant waiting list and over 600 of those are New Mexicans. Every nine minutes another person is added to the national waiting list.
We encourage everyone to #BeTheGift and register as an organ and tissue donor at BeTheGiftToday.com or the NM Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) locations and inform loved ones about their decision.