MISSION

To educate and promote the importance of organ and tissue donation and to attract additional donors through public outreach programs and educational materials targeted at ethnically diverse communities locally and abroad.

BACKGROUND

The International Association for Organ Donation was established in 1999 as a

501 c (3) non-profit organization.

The board of trustees is comprised of 48 members from diverse professional backgrounds in healthcare, business, education and government.

Since its inception, the IAOD has been active in promoting organ and tissue donation awareness in the multi cultural and diverse communities of southeast Michigan and has enrolled over 6,000 people in the Michigan Donor Registry.

COMMUNITY

The IAOD developed close partnerships with social service organizations such as ACCESS and the Arab- American Chaldean Council; mosques and churches; business organizations such as Arab American Chamber of Commerce, Asian American Chamber of Commerce and Detroit Chamber of Commerce.  

The IAOD has also built outreach partnerships with local medical centers including the Henry Ford Health System, Harper University Hospital, Oakwood Health System, Wayne State University  Medical School; local Organ Procurement Organization Gift of Life Michigan; and local colleges including University of Michigan-Dearborn, Henry Ford Community College, and Davenport University; unions and corporations including the UAW, DaimlerChrysler, Ford, and General Motors.

The IAOD works with its partners to promote education and outreach about the importance of organ and tissue donation. 

NEED

There are 80,000 Americans currently waiting for an organ or tissue transplant.

A new patient is added to the transplant waiting list every 16 minutes.

Every 96 minutes, a person dies waiting for a transplant.

Sixty percent of the U.S. population is eligible to donate blood, however, only 5 percent do.

Only 25 to 35 percent of those in need of a bone marrow transplant will find a match among their relatives.

RECOGNITION

On April 11, 2002, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded the IAOD a certificate of appreciation for leadership in Secretary of Health Tommy Thompson’s “Workplace Partnership for Life.”