Viewpoint: Pledge to save lives this new year. Consider what your legacy might be
February 5, 2026
More than 40,000 lives are saved annually through organ donation and transplantation. Tragically, 22 people die every day waiting for a lifesaving gift.
By Jamie Rivas
More than 120,000 Americans currently need a lifesaving organ transplant.
That includes 1,400 Hoosiers.
Local hospitals throughout Indiana are committed to supporting organ donors and helping provide families compassionate care throughout the organ donation process.
Even though only three of every 1,000 deaths occur in a way that makes organ donation possible, in 2025 local hospitals helped Indiana Donor Network save 1,214 lives and coordinate the recovery of 1,379 organs gifted by 467 Hoosiers.
Throughout Indiana, our partner hospitals helped save lives through organ donation referrals. Referrals, which occur only after all lifesaving efforts by their physicians and medical teams have been fully exhausted, save lives by making donation and transplantation possible.
In southern Indiana, Deaconess Midtown Hospital in Evansville led the way in saving lives through organ donation in 2025, saving 106 people through referrals. In Muncie, 15 donors saved 34 lives through referrals from IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital.
Eleven donors saved 25 lives through Union Hospital in Terre Haute. Six donors saved 13 lives through Elkhart General Hospital. And in Richmond, five donors saved 15 lives with the help of Reid Health.
Physicians, nurses and care teams at local hospitals work side by side with Indiana Donor Network every day to ensure families are given the opportunity to find hope and healing through organ donation.
Their compassion, clinical excellence and commitment to honoring patients’ wishes make lifesaving donation possible.
When a patient or family chooses donation, Indiana Donor Network provides the highest standard of comprehensive, compassionate care before, during and after the donation process, working closely with bedside providers and medical teams to ensure a seamless, respectful experience that prioritizes patient dignity and grieving family needs.
When donation is possible, our family advocates throughout the state step in as trusted guides, offering comfort, clarity and steady support during an incredibly difficult time. Working closely with our clinical and support teams, advocates help families navigate each step of the donation process, answer questions with transparency and care, and ensure access to ongoing grief and social support.
Together with our local hospital partners, we honor the gift of donation while helping families find meaning, healing and hope through their loved one’s legacy.
Last year, our family advocates throughout Indiana worked compassionately with nearly 950 families to facilitate the donation process.
Following donation, our aftercare services team provides further comfort, care, grief support and specialized bereavement programs for donor families whenever they need it.
There will be hundreds of untold stories this year about how organ donation gives hope and healing to those waiting for a lifesaving miracle.
Those who are waiting are our family members, loved ones, friends, neighbors, colleagues and total strangers.
Their only chance to survive relies on the selfless decisions of those of us in communities of all sizes across Indiana who choose to be donors.
Legacies live on.
Will saving someone’s life by giving the ultimate gift be your legacy?
Jamie Rivas is director of family and donor services at Indiana Donor Network, the federally designated organ recovery organization that coordinates organ and tissue donation in Indiana and transplantation throughout the U.S.
