National Observances and Celebrations (2024)

National Donor Day – February 14, 2024

National Donor Day is a time to focus on all types of donation – organ, eye, tissue, blood, platelets and marrow – by participating in blood/marrow drives or donor registration events. It is also a day to appreciate donors and loved ones who have given the gift of life, have received a donation, are currently waiting or did not receive an organ in time.

National Donate Life Month– April

National Donate Life Month (NDLM) features an entire month of activities to help encourage Americans to register as organ, eye and tissue donors and to honor those that have saved lives through the gift of donation. Celebrations throughout NDLM include:

• Donate Life Living Donor Day– April 3, 2024
  Join us in thanking all living donors for their lifesaving generosity! Click to download Donate Life Living Donor Day social media graphics to share with your community.
• National Donate Life Blue & Green Day– April 12, 2024
  On National Donate Life Blue & Green Day, the public is encouraged to wear blue and greenand to engage in sharing the Donate Life message and promoting the importance of registering as an organ, eye and tissue donor.
• Blue & Green Spirit Week – April 6–12, 2024
  Each day of the week leading up to National Donate Life Blue & Green Day is dedicated to a special theme, and will include: recognizing donors, volunteers and healthcare heroes; giving hope to those waiting; and engaging the public in fun at-home activities.
• National Pediatric Transplant Week – April 21–27, 2024
  National Pediatric Transplant Week focuses on the powerful message of ending the pediatric transplant waiting list. Throughout the week, clinical partners share their innovative work and patient stories (candidates and recipients), donor families whose children have saved and healed lives through organ, eye, and tissue donation are honored, and recipient families share their thanks and celebrate milestones. Donate Life America (DLA) would like to thank theUnited Network for Organ Sharing(UNOS), theAmerican Society of Transplantation(AST), American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS) andTransplant Familiesfor their partnership in developing and promoting National Pediatric Transplant Week.

National Minority Donor Awareness Month–August

National Minority Donor Awareness Month is a collaborative initiative of the National Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation Multicultural Action Group (NMAG) –American Association of Tissue Banks(AATB), theAmerican Kidney Fund,Association for Multicultural Affairs in Transplantation(AMAT),Association of Organ Procurement Organizations(AOPO),Donate Life America(DLA),Eye Bank Association of America(EBAA),Health Resources & Services Administration(HRSA),National Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program(MOTTEP)National Kidney Foundation(NKF),The Links, Incorporated,theTransplant Life Foundation, andtheUnited Network for Organ Sharing(UNOS) –to save and improve the quality of life of diverse communities by creating a positive culture for organ, eye, and tissue donation. Outreach activities during this month include events to provide donation education, encourage donor registration and promote healthy living and disease prevention to decrease the need for transplantation.

National DMV Appreciation Month– September

The DMV partnership remains the primary source of donor registrations. DMV and driver’s licensing partners are the people on the front lines of service who have helped register more than 140 million donors. National DMV AppreciationMonth is a time for the Donate Life Community to say thank you and show its appreciation of DMV partners across the country through national and local events and outreach.