For example, if you're eligible for Medicare when you turn 65, you can sign up during the 7-month period that begins 3 months before the month you turn 65, includes the month you turn 65, and ends 3 months after the month you turn 65. You can sign up for free Part A (if youâre eligible) any time during or after your Initial Enrollment Period starts.
1 On average, 21 people die every day from the lack of available organs for transplant. 2  Seven percent of people on the waiting listâmore than 6,500 each yearâdie before they are able to receive a transplant. The cornea is the most commonly transplanted tissue. 2  More than 40,000 corneal transplants take place each year in the United States. 3  A healthy person can become a âliving donorâ by donating a kidney, or a part of the liver, lung, intestine, blood or bone marrow. 4  More than 6,000 living donations occur each year.
Thousands of lives depend on receiving organs and tissues for transplant, but there is a severe and chronic shortage of donor organs. Every year, more than 1,500 people die waiting for a donated liver to become available. Currently, about 17,000 adults and children have been medically approved for liver transplants and are waiting for donated livers to become available. The waiting list grows every year. Only once an individual is declared âbrain deadâ can organs be retrieved to save the lives of others.