Valentine’s Day is the day of love symbolized chiefly by hearts. Donation is the gift of love and life. Can you think of a more loving gesture than making February 14 the day you join thousands of Americans in helping spread awareness of Congenital Heart Defects (CHD) and in making the decision to donate life? Because my life, my family, my friends have been impacted by congenital heart disease and heart transplantation, I plead with you today to help me and thousands of others bring awareness to CHD and Organ Donation!

I have but one voice. With your voice added to mine, we can form a chorus that has the possibility of echoing from coast to coast. Our united voices can make a difference and change the lives of Americans all over this great nation. We can change the alarming statistics!

Congenital Heart Defects Facts:

1. 1 in every 85 babies will be born with a CHD

2. CHDs never go away, there is no remission, and there is no cure

3. CHD is the #1 birth defect and is the leading cause of birth-defect related death

4. 40,000 babies with CHD are born in the United States each year

5. There are 35 known types of CHD

6. Although some defects are genetic, in may cases the cause is unknown

7. Some babies will be diagnosed at birth. Sometimes the diagnosis is not made until days, months, or even years later. In some cases, CHDs are not detected until adolescence, adulthood or even death.

8. More than ½ the children born with a CHD will need at least 1 invasive surgery. 20% will not live to see their first birthday.

9. Many cases of sudden cardiac death in young athletes are caused by undiagnosed CHDs

10. It’s estimated that more adults than children are living with CHD. This number is expected to grow by 5% each year

11. There are more than 1 million children and adults living with CHD in the US

12. 91,000 life years are lost yearly in the US due to CHDs

13. CHDs occur frequently & are often life-threatening yet research into them is grossly underfunded

14. Of every $1 the gov’t spends on medical funding, only a fraction of a penny is directed toward CHD research

15. Only 1 penny of every dollar donated to the American Heart Association is spent on Pediatric CHD research

16. CHDs kill twice as many children as cancer every year yet cancer raises as much as 5 times the funds for research

17. The annual cost of surgeries for CHD is $ 2.2 billion

Organ Donation Facts:

1. Almost 100,000 men, women and children currently need life-saving organ transplants

2. Every 12 minutes another name is added to the national organ transplant waiting list

3. 18 people die each day while waiting on a transplant

4. Approximately 1 million tissue transplants are performed annually

5. In 2005, there were 7593 deceased organ donors and 6895 living organ donors resulting in 28,108 organ transplants

6. In 2005, 44,000 grafts were made available for transplant by eye banks within the US

7. 98% of adults have heard of organ donation and 86% have heard of tissue donation

8. 90% of Americans say they support donation, but only 30% know the steps to take to be a donor

9. 35,000 children and adults in the US have life-threatening blood diseases that could be treated by a marrow/blood stem cell or cord blood transplant

10.. Every 2 seconds someone in the US needs blood, more than 39,000 units each day

11. Blood transfusions save approximately 10,000 Americans each day

12. 60% of Americans are eligible to donate blood, only 5% do so

13. Transplantation has saved and enhanced the lives of more than 300,000 people in the US

14. About 76 people receive an organ transplant every day in the US

15. One donor has the potential to save and enhance up to 50 lives and take up to 8 people off the transplant waiting list

16. There are thousands more people waiting on transplants than there are organs being offered.

How to Become an Organ and Tissue Donor

2. Join the National Registry of potential volunteer marrow and blood stem cell donors.

3. Learn how you can donate your baby’s umbilical cord blood stem cells at birth.

4. Donate blood.

Please add your voice to mine. Let this be the Valentine’s Day you “Share Your Life - Share Your Decision”, “Give Thanks - Give Life”, and offer hope to thousands of people living with CHD and waiting on transplants. The life you save could be your child’s, a family member, and even your own! If you were stunned by the statistics in this post and learned something from them, please vote this post “most popular” and use the “Hot List” to bump it so that many more will become aware of the magnitude of CHD and the need for organ, tissue, and blood donation in the United States. God Bless you all!