Organ Donation

Become an Organ Donor in Maryland

It's not an easy discussion. It's not an easy choice. Organ donation is a selfless gift that saves lives.

Meritus Medical Center is one of four Maryland hospitals to receive the national Organ Donation Medal of Honor from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Ours is the only Maryland hospital to receive this honor four times.

According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, more than 103,000 people await organ transplants. In Maryland, approximately 2,700 candidates remain on the wait list.

The hospital's goal is to gain organ donation consent from 75% of those who will not live through a fatal accident or cardiac arrest. In each of those consents, four to five organs or tissue may be obtained. The Organ Donation Medal of Honor recognizes hospitals achieving a 75% conversion rate of eligible patients donating organ and tissue.

Partnership with Infinite Legacy

Meritus Medical Center works with Infinite Legacy, an organ procurement system, to encourage family members to donate the organs of their loved ones. Organ donation includes kidneys, heart, lungs, pancreas and liver. Skin, muscle, bones, and corneas known as "tissue" are also used to save lives.

To learn more about organ donation, or to become an organ donor, go to www.organdonor.gov or visit Infinite Legacy at www.infinitelegacy.org.