About the Nonprofit
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Our Mission: Gift of Life is a national model for the support, awareness and success of organ, eye and tissue donation through education, mentoring and collaboration with partners and individuals in the transplant community.
We promote the sucess of organ, eye, and tissue donation through two programs:
Life savers program - through the organization's Life savers program, classroom educators provide in-classroom presentations each year to more than 30,000 students and families in 115 high schools in the greater Kansas city metropolitan area and 23 counties from wichita, Kansas to st. louis, Missouri. These presentations are provided free of charge, and inform students about the life-saving importance of organ, eye and tissue donation, and empower them to have a conversation with a loved one about their decision. Because of these powerful presentations, 45% of students follow through with a family discussion. More individuals join the state donor registry in counties with schools that have consistently participated in the Life savers program than in those that have not. The organization's Life savers program has contributed to the greater Kansas city area having one of the highest enrollment percentages in its donor registry at almost 80% (compared to a national average of 50%). The organization also provides an online curriculum at www.learnlifesavers.com.
Transplant mentors program - the organization's transplant mentors are trained volunteers who offer encouragement and support to those waiting for a transplant, new transplant recipients and their families. Referrals to the program come from transplant centers throughout the country with 35 transplant centers paricipating in 2023. Since program inception in 2009, trained transplant mentors have been provided to pver 1000 patients and families from 23 states, including living donors and caregivers. So far in 2023 our volunteers have mentored over 120 patients waiting for a transplant. We are growing and excited. The organization also provides online resources for transplant patients and their families at www.giftdonor.org.
