Every minute counts for more than 5,000 children and adults waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant in Lehigh County and across this region, according to the Gift of Life Donor Program.

Gift of Life, the organ and tissue donor program, is working to give each person on the wait-list a second chance at life and invites everyone to join in celebrating the power of organ and tissue donation this April, which is National Donate Life Month.

This month’s theme, “Garden of Life,” highlights the seeds of hope sown by every person who registers as a donor.

The impact of one donor is extraordinary.

One organ donor can save up to eight lives and a tissue donor can transform the lives of more than 100 people through gifts of corneas, skin, bone, veins, ligaments and heart valves.

Here are five ways to take part in National Donate Life Month:

·Register as a donor: Visit donors1.org to sign up today. It’s quick and easy. Anyone can be a potential donor regardless of age or medical history.

·Share your decision: Tell your family and friends about your lifesaving decision and encourage them to sign up. Donors are heroes.

·Learn more: Explore the website donors1.org to discover facts versus myths about donation and much more.

·Connect with the Gift of Life on social media: Read and share inspiring stories about donors and transplant recipients by following Gift of Life on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

·Take a victory lap: The Gift of Life region has been the most generous for organ and tissue donation in the United States every year since 2008. Selfless donors and their compassionate families have saved thousands of lives with support from health care heroes in the 128 acute care hospitals and 15 transplant centers that Gift of Life works with.

Gift of Life Donor Program is the nonprofit, federally designated organ procurement organization serving 11.3 million people in the eastern half of Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware.

Since 1974, Gift of Life has coordinated more than 52,500 lifesaving organs for transplant, and approximately 1.75 million tissue transplants have resulted from the generosity of donors and their families.