Organ Donations

Organ donations are used to save thousands of lives each year in the United States alone. Each donor can save as many as eight lives. While there were more than 17,000 kidney transplants performed in the U.S. last year, about 8,000 people became too sick to receive one or died waiting for a transplant. Another 100,000 people ticked off another year on a waiting list, on which the average stay is about six years. As a community committed to the saving of lives we can have a massive impact on a huge number of lives if we choose to.

• Give a Kidney, Get a Check, Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz, The Atlantic
• We badly need more donated kidneys. Let’s start paying for them, Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz, The Guardian

• The Five Ounce Gift: A Medical, Philosophical & Spiritual Jewish Guide to Kidney Donation, Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz

• Rav Moshe’s Responsa to Organ Donation (Halachic Organ Donor Society)
• Ethical Aspects of Organ Transplantation (Hebrew) (Halachic Organ Donor Society)

• Invite a speaker from the Halachic Organ Donor Society to come start the conversation in your community, shul, JCC, school, or home by emailing admin@hods.org or calling 212-213-5087.
• Invite a speaker from Renewal to speak about living kidney donation.
• Share sources and open up discussion with your community about this issue.
• You can also register to be a donor.

• Halachic Organ Donor Society (HODS) 
• United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) 
• Renewal: A Comprehensive Resource for Kidney Donors & Recipients