Web site focuses on organ donation, registration

Utahns who have thought about donating their organs when they die, or who would be willing to donate blood, bone marrow or a kidney as living donors, have a new way to make their wishes known.

A new Web site, www.yesutah.org, was unveiled Wednesday by Intermountain Donor Services, a nonprofit community organization dedicated to the recovery and transplantation of organs and tissues. The new site allows anyone who wants to be a donor to learn about the donation process, read stories of people who have received transplants and register as a donor.

Upon death, those who register as organ donors provide organs for people in need of life-saving transplants including heart, liver, pancreas, kidneys, lungs and small bowel procedures. Those donors also donate tissue that could save or improve someone's life, including eyes/corneas, heart valves, bones and skin grafts.

Those interested in donating blood, bone marrow or a kidney as living donors can also register on the new Web site and community groups interested in hosting a Donor Services presentation can get more information there.

IDS officials said one of the most frequently asked questions by potential donors concerns potential disfigurement of the body upon death. The answer is that such donations still allow for an open-casket funeral.

Kelly Perkins, author, mountain climber and heart transplant recipient, was recently in Salt Lake City to explain the importance of organ donation. Diagnosed with cardiomyopathy in 1992 she received a heart transplant three years later. After the transplant, Kelly became the first-ever heart transplant recipient to reach the peak of some of the world's most famous mountains.

While her story is inspiring, officials with IDS emphasize that those who need organ and tissue donation come from all walks of life and depend on the generosity of donors to provide what are often life-saving gifts. More than 100,000 people in Utah are on transplant waiting lists.

Donor Services serves Utah, southeastern Idaho, and western Wyoming, which have a total of 2.7 million residents, 79 hospitals and four transplant centers.