Saving lives one license at a time

Lake News | Rance Burger

Camdenton, Mo. —It may be tough to believe that five people have helped save thousands of lives, but ask an organ donation recipient and they can tell you that's exactly what happens in places like the Camdenton driver's license bureau each day.

Driver's license and I.D. card holders are asked if they'd like to join the Missouri Organ and Tissue Donor program when they renew their license or get a license for the first time. The Camdenton office processes fewer than 15,000 transactions annually and has just five employees, but it ranks fourth in the state in organ donation pledge percentage and tops among small offices.

The Midwest Transplant Network and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services recognized the office's employees with awards for their commitment to organ donation programs.
"This is where people are asked if they want to be donors. This is where they put it on their driver's license and join the organ donor registry," MTN Ambassador and Governor's Organ Donation Advisory Committee member Debra Simaitis said. "It's no telling how many people this office has saved."

The idea of saving thousands of lives proved very humbling for office manager Linda Briscoe.
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