Organ transplant recipients and donors reunite at Ohio State hospital pinwheel planting
Why choose to be an organ donor?
Transplantation is now considered a standard medical treatment for a wide variety of conditions and the need is great. Approximately 108,000 Americans are waiting for a lifesaving transplant today. Sadly, approximately 17 times each day a man, woman or child dies for lack of an available organ. They are waiting for someone like you to say “yes” to donation.
One person can potentially save eight lives through organ donation. Organs which can be donated include the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, pancreas and small bowel.
There are two options for organ donation: deceased donation and living donation.
- Deceased Donation: anyone 16 years of age or older can register with the National Donor Registry to legally authorize to be an organ donor. It’s not comfortable to consider your own death. But did you know that less than 1% of registered donors actually qualify to donate upon their death? This is because deceased donation only occurs when the donor passes away in a manner in which brain death occurs. Only about one out of a hundred individuals in the United States will die through the process of brain death and have the potential for organ donation. Since this percentage is so small, it is vital that everyone speak up and say "yes" to organ donation. Learn more about deceased donation from Lifeline of Ohio.
- Living Donation (kidney and liver): a healthy person can choose to give a lifesaving gift of a kidney or lobe of their liver to a person in need. Living donors live just as long as non-donors and are back to normal activities in six to eight weeks. Learn more about living kidney donation and living liver donation at Ohio State's Comprehensive Transplant Center.
Consider organ donation and create a lasting legacy of life - be a Buckeye for LIFE!
Annual Pinwheel Garden Celebrates Organ Donors and Transplant Recipients
Every April during Donate Life Month, a pinwheel garden is planted on the front plaza of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center as a beautiful tribute to every lifesaving organ transplant performed at Ohio State since 1967.
Understanding the need for organ and tissue donors
Not every death results in donation. In 2025, 528 Ohioans shared the gift of life through organ donation at the time of their death. With approximately 108,000 Americans in need of a lifesaving organ transplant, the number of patients waiting significantly exceeds the number of organs available.Learn more
Pinwheel flag honoring individual donors who gave the “gift of life”
Since 1967, the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center has stood as central Ohio’s adult transplant center, steadfast in its mission to honor and promote the importance of organ donation. In solemn tribute to each HERO who selflessly offers the gift of life at the time of their passing within the medical center, a pinwheel flag is reverently raised on the front plaza. To further honor their legacy, the donor’s family receives a replica of the pinwheel flag, serving as a lasting symbol of their loved one’s profound and lifesaving generosity.
Ohio State's ever-turning, scarlet and silver pinwheel symbolizes the gift of life with eight spokes supported by one stem, representing the eight lives potentially saved by one Hero’s decision to be an organ donor.
Three more ways to register as an organ donor
Say "yes!" to being an organ donor when obtaining or renewing your Ohio driver's license or state identification card.
Complete a Donor Registry Enrollment form at BMV agencies or from Lifeline of Ohio at lifelineofohio.org and mail to:
Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles
Attn: Records Request
P.O. BOX 16583
Columbus, OH 43216-6583
