How to Become an Organ Donor

Every day, in the United States alone, 17 people die because they were not able to receive organ transplants in time to save their lives. There are more than 100,000 people on organ donor waiting lists, and at least 10 percent of these are children. The organ donors who will die in the next year will supply enough tissue and organ donations to save less than half of these lives. By deciding to become an organ donor you are also deciding to potentially save dozens of lives at little to no cost to yourself. Once you decide to become an organ donor, however, there are many confusing aspects about the process of becoming an organ donor and the organ donation process, and these things can be off putting in the quest to become a donor. Therefore we have written this article to help guide you thorough the process of becoming an organ donor.

How to become an Organ Donor

To become an organ donor, the first thing you must do is register with your state donor registry. You can find a list of the registries with links to their corresponding websites here: Organ Donor Registries. Signing up for the registry ensures that your name is recorded with an organization who will guarantee that your organ donation wishes are carried out after your death.

The second step to become an organ donor is to indicate your intention on your driver's license. Many states use a pink dot on the back of your license to indicate that you wish to be an organ donor. The next time you need to renew your license talk to your DMV about how to designate organ donor status. The process varies from state to state.

If you are not renewing your driver's license for a while yet you still wish to become an organ donor, it is suggested that you obtain and sign a donor card from the Division of transplantation, an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. Simply carry this card with you to ensure that your wishes to become an organ donor are carried out.

The last, but possibly most important step to become an organ donor is to tell your family. Tell those closest to you that you wish to be an organ donor after you die. Even if you sign a donor card stating that you wish to be an organ donor, hospitals are still not permitted to perform organ removal procedures on your body until they receive permission from your next of kin. It may take some convincing to persuade your family that you truly wish to be an organ donor and that it's the best possible decision for you, but you are urged to persevere for the sake of the lives of the people who you could save.

The Organ Donation Process

If you do decide to be an organ donor, the process that will occur is roughly as follows: after you are declared dead, or brain dead, in the hospital, a transplant coordinator will travel to your hospital to evaluate the suitability of your organs for transplantation. He will receive a detailed overview of your medical history and will most probably interview your next of kin to get an overview of your general lifestyle. After gaining consent from your next of kin a team of medical professionals will then take your body to an operating room and begin removing the organs which the transplant coordinator decides are suitable for donation. These organs will then be flushed of blood and placed in an aqueous solution that will preserve them for the few hours it takes to transport them to their recipients. The recipients of your organs are chosen based on a priority index calculated by how critical their condition is, how long they have been waiting, and how closely their body type matches yours (to ensure the least possible chance of rejection). A few weeks after the procedure, your family will be sent multiple letters about the various patients who received your organs with general details about how they are doing.

Your decision to be an organ donor will have now saved potentially dozens of lives. The legacy you leave by donating the one thing you truly owned, your body, is beyond that which could be left by any foundation, will or heir.