Living Organ Donor Registry Passes State Senate

California would be the first state to create a registry of living organ donors under a measure that has passed the state Senate.

The bill that was approved Tuesday would create a central database of people willing to donate a kidney to one of thousands of Californians awaiting transplants.

SB1395 also would make it easier for individuals to register as organ donors by requiring them to check a box when they fill out a driver's license application.

More than 21,000 people in California are in need of new organs, primarily kidneys, according to state figures. One-third of them will die before receiving a transplant.

The legislation passed unanimously in the Senate and now heads to the Assembly.