Organ Donation

SALT LAKE CITY - One hundred million people in the United States are now reported as registered organ, eye and tissue donors on their driver license, state issued ID card or by registering online.

This equals approximately 42 percent of the adult population of the U.S. This milestone is a testament to our human nature and our willingness to work together for the greater good.

Utah has consistently had one of the highest donor registration rates in the nation.

SMITHFIELD -- Jeff Norman laughs when he suggests that his family sounds like a soap opera. But instead of complaining about the medical issues that have come in handfuls at a time, the Normans just accept those trials as part of life and look for the good in the difficult experiences.

"We just feel everyone gets picked on, so there's no reason to get mad," Norman said. "There's no sense in feeling sorry for yourself."

OGDEN -- Mark Theobald received a new kidney six years and five days ago.

ST. GEORGE -- A woman committed suicide shortly after telling emergency personnel she wanted her organs harvested.

BOUNTIFUL -- Mary Rizzuto has cheated death more than once in her 56 years.

When she was a young girl living in Wyoming, she survived a severe bout of rheumatic fever that damaged her heart valves. At the age of 23 she had her first surgery to replace one of the damaged valves. When that valve began to fail, another surgery to replace it nearly killed her.

NEW YORK -- Families choosing whether to donate a loved one's organs usually have days to grapple with their decision, all while the patient lies hooked up to machines in a hospital bed.

But they would have only about 20 minutes to make the choice in a new pilot program meant to recover organs from patients who die at home.

That's roughly how long a team of organ specialists will have after a cardiac-arrest patient is declared dead to arrive at the home, check a donor registry, determine medical eligibility, obtain a family member's consent and get the person into a specialized ambulance.

The program launching Wednesday -- the first of its kind in the U.S., according to organizers and other experts -- could eventually lead to thousands more organs donated each year nationwide. But the six-month trial, a collaboration between Bellevue Hospital and New York City's police and fire departments, could be declared a success without a single organ being recovered, organizers say.