DONATE LIFE ORGAN DONATION AWARENESS - KANSAS

New Registry Hopes to Aid Organ Donation

Source: KSNT NBC 27

The family of Bradley Murray, the Kansas State University student who passed away following severe brain damage, took the decision to donate his organs and tissue last week. Murray had told his parents he wanted to donate, but many people do not.

Kansas will be trying to ease the decision process by launching a new online registry. People will be able to indicate their desire to donate. However, that decision will be legally binding, meaning hospitals will not require the family's consent anymore. The goal is to encourage families to share their opinions before another tragedy like murray's occurs.

"That is going to be your legal consent for donation, so say that I sign up on the registry and I die a month later, my decision is made. My family doesn't have to make the decision," said Ginny Woods, Stormont Vail's Donor Coordinator.

1,000 Kansans are on the waiting list for life-saving transplants but the majority will not receive the organs they need. Woods is concerned about the the lack of information people receive. According to Woods, more than 90% of Americans say they support donation, but only 30% say they know the essential steps it takes to be a donor.

Woods says the educational process might take years, but it has already had an impact, as the number of donations continues to rise annually.