Dr. Osama Gaber
Director, Methodist Transplant Center

One generous organ donor can save up to eight lives and enhance the lives of up to 70 more people. Organ donation makes a tremendous impact and gives a second chance to those in need of lifesaving transplants. Yet, more than 107,000 Americans sit, waiting to learn if a compatible heart, kidney or other organ has been found.

"Organ donation is truly a gift of life," says Osama Gaber, M.D., director of the Methodist Transplant Center. "Sadly, there is a great disparity between the number of people in need of transplant and the number of organ donors each year."

With more than one-third of patients on the transplant waiting list dying each year – 18 per day – the number of people in need far outweighs the number of available organs. So much so that in recent years, patients on waiting lists have relied on media attention and billboards to assist them in finding potential donors. Controversy has surrounded such impassioned pleas but the reality is that if more people made the decision to donate, they could save lives and enable more people to carry on in life.

"We are forever indebted to the immeasurable gifts of organ donors, and the generous decisions made by their loved ones," Gaber says. "One of our most important goals as a transplant team is to promote organ donation, to educate people about the incredible gifts they can give a neighbor by discussing organ donation with their family in case of a tragic event."

A Leader in Transplants
Since the world's first organ transplants were performed in the 1960s, The Methodist Hospital has been at the forefront of treating patients with organ failure. In 2009, the Methodist Transplant Center performed 308 transplants, more than ever in a single year.

End-stage organ failure can be caused by a number of both common and rare diseases including diabetes, hypertension, cardiomyopathy following a heart attack, pulmonary fibrosis and hepatitis. Methodist's transplant team takes a multidisciplinary approach to treating patients with end-stage organ failure.

"Our team of physicians, surgeons and nurses aims to help patients manage their diseases through medicine, surgery and clinical trials," Gaber says. "Once transplant becomes the best option, we provide patients the best care possible before, during and after surgery."

Living Donations on the Rise
Although heart, lung and pancreas transplants are performed through deceased donors, living donors can provide a kidney and sometimes a liver for transplant to help a loved one or neighbor in need. Living donor transplants have quadrupled at Methodist in the past few years – more than half of the 141 kidney transplants performed in 2009 were a result of living donors.

"Our goal is every donor, every time," Gaber says. "If a patient has a willing donor, we will do everything we can to get them a transplant to save their lives."

To learn more about transplant, visit methodisttransplantcenter.com. To register to become an organ donor in Texas, visit donatelifetexas.org.