We’ve all heard the phrase “life is precious.” But it may not truly hit home until you, or your loved ones, are facing serious health challenges. In those cases, you may rely on the generosity of friends, family members and even strangers to help get you through, via donations of all kinds.

April is National Donate Life Month, and was established by Donate Life America, a non-profit that works to encourage people to register as organ, eye and tissue donors. While those donations are all critically important in the month of April and beyond, they’re just the start of the possibilities for helping others as a donor. Read on and consider how you might be able to change someone’s life by donating parts of yourself—literally and figuratively—when the opportunities arise.

1. Register to be an organ or tissue donor. All across the country, there’s a shortage of donor organs. In Alabama, alone, there are more than 1,200 people waiting for an organ transplant that could save their life, according to Legacy of Hope, Alabama’s Organ and Tissue Donation Alliance. A single donor can save up to eight lives because of their organs; their skin can be used to help burn patients and people with cancer; their bone can be used to help people with injuries and people with cancer; and corneas from the eye can help restore vision to someone in need. To become a donor, you can register on the Legacy Organ, Eye and Tissue Registration, and know that your generosity could make an immeasurable difference in someone else’s life. 
2. Donate blood. People with cancer, chronic illnesses and injuries often depend on donated blood, as do those who are undergoing surgery. According to the American Red Cross, every two seconds someone in the United States needs blood or platelets. And yet, because of Covid, this nation is seeing its worst blood shortage in a decade, and that puts people in need of blood at risk. If you’re willing and able to give blood, find a blood drive or donation site near you and make an appointment. It doesn’t take long, and the benefits could far outweigh the effort.
3. Become a living donor. About four out of every 10 organ donation is a living donation, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration’s site, OrganDonor.gov. A living donor is someone who chooses to donate an organ or tissue to another person, usually a friend or family member. Another option is an “paired exchange,” in which a donor/recipient pair don’t match one another, but they do match another unrelated pair. Claudia and Luis are a couple. Claudia needs a kidney, but Luis isn’t a match. Alex and Lauren are another couple. Alex needs a kidney, but Lauren isn’t a match. Lauren is, however, a match for Claudia and Luis is a match for Alex. Through a “swap,” each person gets the match they need. Organs you can donate while living include a kidney, a lobe of your liver, a full or partial lung, part of your pancreas, part of your intestines; along with skin, bone and cells. There are a number of programs seeking donations from living people, including one at University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine (UAB).
4. Sign up to donate your body to science. For many medical students, their first “patient” is a cadaver, and those cadavers are available thanks to altruistic people who plan ahead to donate their whole body to science. If you’re interested in leaving a legacy that could assist in training future health care workers, register to make a whole body donation. You can sign up via the Anatomical Donor Program at Heersink School of Medicine at UAB or the Anatomical Gifts Program at University of South Alabama College of Medicine.
5. Donate time or money. If for any reason you’re unable or choose not to donate parts from your body, you can still give from your heart. Sign up with a non-profit that collects donations and needs volunteers; or offer to help people in need by driving them to appointments, running errands or cooking them a meal. If that presents challenges, you can always make a donation to an organization that’s involved in saving, or extending lives.

Want to learn more about ways that you could make an impact on someone else’s lives? Talk with your health care provider to see if they have ideas, and look for local charities that could use assistance. Your time, effort and selflessness could be a priceless gift to someone else.