New online registry makes it easier to become an organ donor

In honor of April’s Donate Life Month – UC Davis Medical Center employees may want to take advantage of a new opportunity to give life. Now, people can save up to eight lives as an organ donor and improve another 50 lives as a tissue donor simply by signing up on the new statewide organ and tissue donor registry at: www.donatelifecalifornia.org. It takes just seconds, but could mean an entire lifetime for those waiting for a second chance.

Currently, in California, nearly 20,000 people wait for a life-saving transplant – 21 percent of the nation’s total of nearly 90,000 transplant candidates. These numbers represent an unparalleled need to immediately address this critical health issue. A successful donor registry will positively impact California and the nation as a whole – saving lives and greatly cutting the cost of caring for people with end-stage organ failure.

In the past, a pink “donor dot” on a California drivers license demonstrated a desire to donate life. But it did not record the decision on a list that could ensure that wish was fulfilled.

That’s all changed. Now, individuals can go online and sign up to be an organ and tissue donor. Personal information will be kept secure and confidential. It will be accessible only to authorized organ and tissue recovery personnel.

Those who sign up will be able to send an e-mail to family and friends sharing their decision to give life. It takes only minutes to sign up – minutes that could mean years of life for someone else.

Sign up to be an organ and tissue donor at: www.donatelifecalifornia.org or www.donevidacalifornia.org.

This simple act of signing up to be an organ and tissue donor gives people the power to donate life, to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others and to leave a legacy that will touch countless others.