At Oasis, we love the community we have the privilege of serving every day – getting to see our guests, spreading the love of cannabis and culture in our neighborhood, and sharing great moments with each other every day is something we’re incredibly grateful for. Unfortunately, many members of our community across the state of Nevada are faced with debilitating conditions that create challenges for them every day, and in many instances, they require organ or tissue donations to stay alive. Fortunately for the rest of us, registering as an organ donor couldn’t be easier.
That’s why Oasis is a proud supporter of the Nevada Donor Network, a non-profit 501(c)3 organ procurement organization. These heroes of ours coordinate, recover, and allocate lifesaving organs and tissue, provide educational tools to hospitals and the community, and have built a strong network of support for donor families. We had the pleasure of sitting down with Kelley McClellan, the Director of Community Development for Nevada Donor Network to help us learn more.
If a doctor knows I’m a registered organ, eye, and tissue donor, will they work as hard to save me?
Your life always comes first. If you are sick or injured and taken to a hospital, the doctors and nurses first priority is always to save your life. Donation is only considered after death has been declared.
Can organs be donated to people of different races/ethnicities?
Some types of organ failure occur more often in racial and ethnic minority populations than in the population. For example, African Americans and other minorities are three times more likely than Caucasians to suffer from end-stage renal (kidney) disease. Although organs are not matched according to race/ethnicity, critical criteria (including blood type) for donor and recipient matching are more likely to be found among members of the same ethnicity. Also, transplant success rates increase when organs are matched between members of the same ethnic and racial group. The need for a diverse population of organ donors is critical.
Am I too old to donate?
There are no age limitations on who can donate. The decision on whether you can be an organ, eye, or tissue donor depends on your physical condition, not age.
Can I register as an organ, eye, and tissue donor if I have several medical conditions?
Everyone should consider themselves a potential donor, regardless of previous medical conditions. Medical professionals evaluate each patient at the time of death and determine if your organs, eyes, or tissues are medically suitable for donation.
How does Nevada Donor Network help coordinate donations?
Nevada Donor Network coordinates, recovers and allocates organs, cornea and tissue donation from the heroic donors that give the gift of life and healing through donation after death. We work with numerous organizations throughout the state to facilitate the gifts of donation and allocate them around the world to honor the wishes and legacy of our heroic donors. One person’s gift can provide the gift of life to 8 people through organ donation, the gift of healing to up to 75 people through tissue donation, and the gift of sight to two people through cornea donation.
What else can community members do besides registering as a donor to help with this vital work?
You can volunteer to help with events and share your story with us at https://www.nvdonor.org/volunteer or you can support bringing a full transplant institute to Nevada at www.nvdonor.org and make a contribution.
How To Register to Be a Donor
Registering to be an organ donor is simple, and there are two main ways to do it:
Check the box when you get your ID
Any time you get a new driver’s license or ID issued, or when you go to renew, all you have to do is check the box indicating that you wish to be an organ donor. Plus you’ll get a neat little heart on your ID!
Sign up online
If you already have your ID and don’t need to renew it any time soon, you can register to be a donor online anytime! Just follow the link here to fill out your information.
Organ donation is one of the easiest ways to save a life. While most Nevadans (around 60%!) have already registered, make sure you join us in supporting this incredible organization by making sure you’re registered too or by donating directly to the Nevada Donor Network.