Rasmussen College Joins The Effort To Increase The Number Of Registered Organ And Tissue Donors In Wisconsin

“Wisconsin is unique because our online donor registration system is only three years old,” said Tammie Rogers, Rasmussen College Nursing Faculty member. “We were the 48^th state to launch an online donor registration system, which allows people to now legally register as a donor.”

In Wisconsin, more than 2,200 people are waiting for an organ transplant. The greatest need is kidney donations in both Wisconsin and around the nation. Other organs that can be transplanted include the heart, liver, lungs, pancreas and intestine. Anyone can register to be a donor, even if you have a pre-existing condition and there is no cost to the donor’s family or estate. Currently, there are 1.6 million registered donors in Wisconsin, less than half of eligible donors. At the event, organ transplant experts will walk people through the registration process.

“As a former ICU nurse, I’ve had to ask family members if they’d like to donate their loved ones organs,” said Rogers. “It’s never an easy question to ask because the family is also trying to deal with the loss of their loved one. The better time for that decision to be made is right now, by the patients themselves, so they know their wishes will be carried out.”

Rasmussen College invites the public to learn more about the organ donation process and hear from both donor families and recipients from the Wausau area on Wednesday, April 10, 2013 from 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. in Room 101. The campus is located at 1101 Westwood Drive, Wausau, WI 54401.

To learn more about organ and tissue donation, visit http://donatelife.net/ and to learn more about Rasmussen College go to www.rasmussen.edu.