About DONOR

DONOR is designed to help patients on the transplant waitlist identify potential living organ donors via their friends and family on various social networking platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter and Messenger.

For example, Facebook has over 2 billion monthly users and is consequently a powerful communication tool that has the ability to directly impact the organ shortage. Many transplant candidates already have an extensive social network on the site that connects them to friends and family.

DONOR was developed to help patients tell their story about organ failure and their need for a living donor transplant. In an initial pilot study, patients who used DONOR were 6.6 times more likely to have a potential living donor come forward on their behalf compared to patients on the waitlist that did not use the site.

350+ Stories

published as of October 2020

2,200+ Shares

to social media, email and other sites

1,850 Living Donors

have donated to kidney and liver patients

Find a Participating Transplant Center

There are currently over 200 transplant centers in our system, 19 of which are currently participating in DONOR. Visit our Transplant Center page to get contact information and find a DONOR-participating center near you.

Transplant Centers

Living Organ Donors are Greatly Needed

To spare an individual patient a long and uncertain wait, relatives, loved ones, friends, and even individuals who wish to remain anonymous may serve as living organ donors.

A living donor donates one of their two healthy kidneys, or a part of their liver. With living donation, a patient can undergo live donor organ transplantation immediately, avoiding the wait time and offering superior survival benefits. However, living donor transplantation accounts for fewer than 6,000 transplants per year despite a huge pool of millions adults living in the US. Identifying ways to increase living organ donation is one way to influence the organ shortage crisis.

"Living donor transplantation accounts for fewer than 6,000 transplants per year. Identifying ways to increase living organ donation is one way to influence the organ shortage crisis."

About the Organ Shortage in the United States

In the US today, there are over 100,000 people in need of a life-saving transplant. Transplantation is the preferred form of treatment for patients with kidney or liver failure, and for many patients, transplantation improves both survival and quality of life. Despite this profound need, only about 20,000 deceased donor organs are transplanted every year.

The waiting time for a deceased donor organ is 3-10 years, and 18 people die everyday from a lack of an organ.

How to Get Started

Become a Donor

If you are interested in becoming a living donor, head to the Get Started page to learn more. If you know who you want to donate to, reach out to the patient’s transplant center to begin the process. If you are interested in donating but do not have anyone specific in mind, head to the Stories page to find patients in your area or reach out to your local transplant center as a Non-Directed Donor. If you have any questions at all, please reach out to help@thedonorapp.com.

See Patient Stories Find a Transplant Center

Share my Story

If you are interested in sharing your story using DONOR, click Learn More to see how DONOR can help. If you know someone who needs a transplant and would like to help them write their story, consider being a Champion. If you have any questions at all, please reach out to help@thedonorapp.com.

Learn More Become a Champion