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.
However, since replacement organs are harvested from donor bodies, there is a continuous shortage of organs on offer, leading to long waiting periods for patients. In the United States alone, about 120,000 patients are on the waiting list. However, in 2012, there were only 14,013 organ donors and 28,052 subsequent transplant procedures. The World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that in 2010, a total of 106,879 organs were transplanted to patients globally â fulfilling only about 10% of the requirement.