Metro group raising awareness of the need for organ donations

With six people being added to the organ transplant waiting list every hour, 8,000 people will die this year waiting for an organ donation.

One local group hopes that making this day, National Donor Day, can help raise awareness well into the future.

Kara Cordell, with Live on Nebraska, said, “In my mind, there's no greater gift of love than being an organ or tissue donor. Saving somebody's life or helping them improve their quality of life is a huge act of love."

While February 14th is often seen as a day of love, many, including the staff at Live on Nebraska, are marking the occasion known as National Donor Day. The nonprofit is responsible for maintaining the state's donor registry.

National Donor Day is meant to increase awareness for the need to donate and it's a day some hold close to their hearts.

Joey Lee said, "It took on a different meaning, now just getting on the other side of it. Now getting a chance to see how the work that we do here affects lives."

Lee said me his mom received two kidney transplants in the past 17 years. He left the corporate world less than a year ago to work at Live on Nebraska in part because of what the gift of an organ donation did for his mom and family.

In Nebraska alone more than 400 people are in need of life-saving transplants – a number Live on Nebraska is hoping to put a dent in well after National Donor Day.

Cordell said, "When we're done using our organs, if we can give those to somebody else and help continue their life, I think that's a really incredible gift."

If you're interested in becoming a donor you can learn more at

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We're told that 300 transplants were done in Nebraska last year. The biggest transplant need, both here and nationwide, is for kidneys.