BYU NewsNet - Give a heart on Valentine's Day

Students are encouraged to give the ultimate gift of love this Valentine's Day by signing up to become an organ donor.

Feb. 14 is not only the official day of showing love, but National Donor Day as well.

"The nicest thing that you can do on Valentine's Day to celebrate is to visit www.yesutah.org, the Web site of the Utah Donor Registry, where you will find information about organ donation as well as the information to register online as a donor," said Deen Vetterli, Executive Director of the National Kidney Foundation of Utah, in a recent news release.

Signing up online to be a donor is critical, said Luz Lewis Perez, program director at the National Kidney Foundation of Utah. Just saying "yes" or putting a donor sticker on a driver's license isn't enough.

"The majority of people who decide to become organ donors are probably going to be in a car accident or die suddenly and unless they've registered online, the family will have to give the ultimate consent, even if their license says they want to be a donor," Perez said.

He said that deciding whether a loved one wanted their organs donated can be extremely difficult when faced with the decision at such a tragic time and can be easily avoided after spending a few minutes online.

At the national level there are currently 80,664 people on a waiting list for a life-saving organ transplant, 270 of them live in Utah, said Ben Dieterle, public relations coordinator for Intermountain Donor Services.

"Nationally, 17 people die each day while waiting for an organ transplant," Dieterle said. "One organ donor could save up to nine lives and one tissue donor could help at least 50 people."

Organs that can be donated are the pancreas, kidneys, lungs, liver, heart and corneas. Tissues and bones donations can be used to enhance the lives of those who need skin grafts and knee surgery, according to the Intermountain Donor Services Web site.

As of Jan. 24, the Utah Donor Registry has recorded over 1 million potential eye, organ and tissue donors, but Dierterle said they always need more.

"Seventy percent of the population, between the ages 16 and 74 years old, has registered online to be donors, our goal is to reach at least 90 percent," he said.

Those encouraging organ and tissue donation include local celebrities LaVell Edwards, former BYU football coach and the former Miss Utah 2001Jackie Hunt Herrin.

Before leaving to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint, Edwards worked to promote awareness of organ donation opportunities for senior citizens up to 80 years of age, said Dieterle.

Herrin's platform as Miss Utah 2001 was organ, eye and tissue donation.

She said the best thing students can do is sign up online and talk to their family and friends.

"Let them know you want to be a donor," she said.

Not only can student sign up to be a donor at www.yesutah.org but today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. they can sign up at a booth in the Garden Court at the Wilkinson Student Center.

A blood drive competition will be going on as well. BYU will be competing with Weber State University, University of Utah and Westminster University to see which school can collect the most pints of blood, according to a news release by Saturn of Salt Lake, who is sponsoring the annual competition.

Prizes and pizza will be available to students who participate.

"There is so much need for living and non-living donation, including blood, blood marrow, eyes, tissues, and organs," said Jeff Wetzel, president of Saturn of Salt Lake. "This one event will help many lives."