Are You an Organ Donor?

Does your driver’s license include the little red heart with the words “Organ Donor at the bottom?” If not, why the wait?

April is National Donate Life Month (NDLM), an annual observance established by Donate Life America focusing on the need and importance of organ, tissue and cornea donation. NDLM encourages people to register their decision to become a donor, honor living and deceased donors and celebrate the lives that have been saved.

More than 100,000 people are waiting for lifesaving organ transplants. Even the largest football stadium in the U.S. could not hold the number of patients on the national transplant waiting list; and every eight minutes another person is added to that list. It is sad to learn that 5,600 people in the U.S. die every year while on the transplant list. One organ donor can save up to eight lives, a cornea could restore sight to two people and tissue donations could heal 75 people.

Deceased donation is the process of giving organs, corneas or tissues at the time of the donor’s death for the purpose of transplantation. Deceased donation can only occur after death has been declared by medical professionals who are not part of the donation and transplant process.

People of all ages and medical histories should consider themselves potential organ, eye and tissue donors. Your medical condition at the time of death will determine what organs and tissues can be donated. All major religions support donation as a final act of compassion and generosity.

The state donor registry and National Donate Life Registry are searched securely online to determine if the patient has authorized donation. If the potential donor is not found in a registry, their next of kin or legally authorized representative is offered the opportunity to authorize the donation. Donation and transplantation professionals follow national policy to determine which organs can be transplanted and to which patients on the national transplant waiting list the organs are to be allocated.

There is no cost to the donor’s family or estate for donation. The donor family pays only for medical expenses before death and costs associated with funeral arrangements.

Living organ donation offers another choice for some transplant candidates, reducing their time on the waiting list and leading to better long-term outcomes for the recipient. Living tissue donation – birth tissue – is used to promote healing and to treat burns and painful wounds.

The vast majority of Americans support donation as an opportunity to give life and health to others. Unfortunately, many people overlook the important step of registering their decision to be a donor. Donors often die suddenly and unexpectedly. Donation can provide solace to a family and relieve the burden of making the donation decision in a time of grief and shock.

Are you already registered?

If you registered in the National Donate Life Registry on DonateLife.net, RegisterMe.org, or in your iPhone Health App, please go to RegisterMe.org and click “Access Your Registration” to make changes to your donor registration record. If you registered through your DMV or Driver License Partner, you should have a heart or other symbol on your license. If you need to confirm or change your state registration, please reach out to your local contact.

The physicians and staff at Penn Highlands Healthcare observe National Donate Life Month by helping to raise awareness about organ, eye and tissue donation among patients, visitors, employees and communities through various communications and activities such as flag raising ceremonies at its hospitals; urging everyone to wear blue and green on April 11, 2025 -- Blue and Green Day; posting signage; and encouraging everyone to become an organ donor by registering at www.donatelifepa.org in Northwest and Southwest Pennsylvania or www.donors1.org in the Central part of the state. A donor can also register when renewing their driver’s license in person or online at www.dmv.pa.org.