LifeSource Fulfill the Wishes of Record Number of Organ, Tissue Donors

Numbers represent more generous individuals who gave the gift of life

MINNEAPOLIS – LifeSource – the organ, eye and tissue recovery first responders for Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and western Wisconsin – announced today that in 2022 they fulfilled the wishes of more organ donors and tissue donors than any other year since the nonprofit’s founding in 1989. More organs were transplanted from those local donors in 2022 as well, reducing the national transplant waiting list.

• Organ donors: 244 (222 donors with organs transplanted, a 21% increase from 2021)
• Organs transplanted from those donors: 760 (33% increase from 2021)
• Tissue donors: 1,058 (23% increase from 2021)

2022: A Record-Breaking Year [PDF Download]

“It’s an honor to fulfill those final, generous wishes of a record number of individuals,” said Chief Executive Officer, Kelly White.  “But these records aren’t just numbers, they represent people in our community willing to help others.”

LifeSource credits the donation increases to a more integrated, collaborative process with hospitals across our service area that was launched in 2021; the addition of new, highly skilled clinical roles; passionate team members and partners; and the generosity of our community in saying “yes” to giving the gift of life.

In 2020, LifeSource set a goal of achieving 1,000 transplants annually from donors LifeSource supports by 2027. Achieving these record numbers in 2022 demonstrates LifeSource is well on its way to meeting that audacious, long-term goal.

“Organ, eye and tissue donation is an incredibly complex process that requires so many people working in concert under extreme time constraints,” said White. “What this team, our partners and the community have achieved together is simply remarkable.”

2022 Highlights

• LifeSource welcomes new Chief Executive Officer, Kelly White, the second in company history.
• Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa became the first in the nation to include organ donor designation on tribal IDs.
• On December 19, 2022, LifeSource raised the Donate Life Flag to honor a historic milestone: fulfilling the wishes of more than 1,000 tissue donors in a single year – a record since our tissue program began in 1999.
• July was a milestone month for organ and tissue in the Upper Midwest with more donors than any other month in LifeSource’s history: 28 organ donors (84 organs transplanted/lives saved) and 118 tissue donors (more than 8,850 lives impacted). The second highest month saw 26 organ donors and 100 tissue donors.
• Mayo Clinic, the University of Minnesota, Sanford Medical Center in Fargo, Abbott Northwestern Hospital, CHI St. Alexius Health in Bismarck, Fairview Southdale, Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center, Monument Health Rapid City Hospital and St. Cloud Hospital all met or exceeded any previous milestones totals for organ and tissue donors cared for.
• St. Cloud Hospital collaborated with LifeSource to care for 19 organ donors and 57 tissue donors, nearly doubling any previous milestone year.
• First ever organ donations occurred at Maple Grove Hospital and Grand Itasca Clinic and Hospital in Grand Rapids, MN.

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About Organ Donation: Facts & Statistics

• Organ donation is extremely rare. Only 1 percent of people who die get the opportunity to give those gifts. That’s due to a variety of medical and circumstantial criteria, including passing away at a hospital on ventilated support.
• It takes many people working in concert to make the donation process happen in a short period of time. Watch this video to learn more about the donation process.
• One person can save eight lives by donating organs; heal more than 75 lives by recovering tissue and restore sight for up to 10 individuals through eye donation.

About LifeSource
LifeSource is the non-profit organization dedicated to saving lives through organ, eye and tissue donation in the Upper Midwest, serving more than seven million people in communities across Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. We partner with more than 270 hospitals, 9 transplant centers, 9 medical examiner offices and hundreds of funeral homes each year to fulfill the donation wishes of individuals in our community. We are relentlessly pursuing a day when no one dies waiting for a life-saving transplant.