Currently, there are more than 100,000 people in the United States waiting for a second chance at life; more than 21 percent of them reside in California. April is designated as Donate Life Month in California, and the California Department of Motor Vehicles is highlighting its partnership with the state authorized registry program, Donate Life California. The DMV would like to remind residents that they have an opportunity to give life and hope to others by signing up with the Donate Life California Donor Registry.
There are currently eight million Californians that have checked ‘Yes’ to become a registered organ donor-making the state the highest enrollment of a donor registry in the nation. Ninety-eight percent of those who register their decision to be an organ and tissue donor in California do so through the DMV.
One organ donor can save the lives of up to eight people, and tissue donation can enhance the lives of another 50 people. Since the Donate Life California Registry was introduced in 2005, more than 900 lives have been saved through organ donation, and more than 30,000 people have been healed through tissue donation from donors on the registry.
Organs that can save lives through transplants include heart, liver, kidneys, lung, pancreas and small intestine. Examples of tissues that are often needed to save or enhance someone’s life include cornea, heart, valve, bone tissues, and skin grafts. Listed below are a few facts about organ and tissue donation that you may not know:
Two licensed physicians must make the diagnosis of brain death before a patient is considered as a donor.
The donation process is conducted in sterile surgical environments and does not prevent the patient from having an open casket funeral.
Of those waiting, nearly 6,000 will die this year due to a lack of life-saving donors.
Organs and tissues are distributed fairly and equitable and the decision is based on medical criteria only. Rich and famous people do not get priority.
Your medical care and/or funeral arrangements will not be affected by your decision to donate.
There are no costs to you or your family to donate.
People of all ages and medical histories can sign up to be potential donors.
All major religions support or permit donation.
In the past, California driver license and identification card holders signed a donor card and placed the pink “donor” sticker on their license or ID, which served as an important symbol of their intent. However, simply doing this did not place them on any list or registry to inform anyone else of that intent. Since 2006, by signing up as an organ and tissue donor through the DMV, your name is placed directly on the Donate Life California Registry – guaranteeing your desire to become a donor upon death. With the Donate Life California Registry, your desire to donate is stored in a secure, confidential database. The information is accessible only through authorized organ and tissue recovery personnel. By registering you can spare grieving family members from facing a very difficult decision regarding organ donation, and provide them with peace of mind that your wishes are being carried out.
On average, 30,000 donors each week sign up to become a donor through the DMV’s driver license and ID card application and renewal process, and you can become one of them. If you are interested in giving the gift of life and would like to become an organ and tissue donor, there are a few easy options for signing up. First, you can wait until you apply for or renew your driver license or identification card, and check the “yes” box on your renewal notice or application. The other option is to visit the DMV website at www.dmv.ca.gov and click theOrgan and Tissue Donor Registry linkunder the Other Services option on the homepage. From there, click the Donate Life California link, and you will directly be taken to the Donate Life California website www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org, where it gives you the option to sign up to become and organ and tissue donor.
For more information about signing up to be an organ and tissue donor through the DMV, please visit www.dmv.ca.gov. For other information regarding Donate Life California, please visit www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org.
About Donate Life California
Donate Life California is the nonprofit, state authorized organ and tissue donor registry dedicated to saving the lives of thousands of Californians awaiting life-saving transplants. Donate Life California is managed by the state’s four federally designated, nonprofit organ recovery agencies.
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