CASPER, Wyo. — On Tuesday, the Casper City Council and Mayor Steve Cathey recognized the efforts of the Denver-based Donor Alliance for its efforts to encourage people to register to donate their organs.
“Wyoming continues to be one of the most generous states in the nation when it comes to organ and eye and tissue donation,” said Laura Jeffries, chief administrative officer of the Donor Alliance.
The national average for people registering to donate is 48.9%, but the average in Wyoming was 58% in 2023, Jeffries said.
Some of the people in the audience at the council meeting were recipients of organ donations, she said.
April is Donate Life month, Jeffries added.
The need persists, with 150 people in the Casper awaiting life-saving transplants and hundreds more waiting for tissue donations.
In 2023, Colorado and Wyoming had 307 organ donors, which offered 918 organ transplants and 1,703 tissue donors which helped nearly 144,000 people with tissue grafts, she said.
Mayor Steve Cathey read a proclamation about Donate Life Month to recognize the efforts of the Donor Alliance to raise awareness and educate the public about the importance of registering to be an organ donor.
Cathey added that 60% of Casper residents have registered to donate organs and tissue through their driver’s license identification cards, “which reflects a deep commitment to one another and confirms there is good in all of us.”
One donor can save up to eight lives and heal and save 75 lives through tissue donation, he said.
Registering to be an organ donor isn’t just about checking a box on a driver’s license application, Cathey added: “You’re not just checking a box, you’re healing and saving lives.”
