The Pennsylvania Departments of Transportation (PennDOT) and Health (DOH) have partnered with organ donation organizations CORE and Gift of Life Donor Program to promote organ donation awareness in honor of National Donate Life Month this April. With over 49.5% of current driver’s license and identification card holders registered as organ donors, nearly 5 million Pennsylvanians have become donors. But more than 7,000 Pennsylvanians are still awaiting organ transplants, and PennDOT and DOH want to encourage more people to register as organ donors and help save lives.
PennDOT Deputy Secretary for Driver and Vehicle Services Kurt Myers has urged potential donors to consider adding the organ donor designation to their driver’s license or identification card, stressing that making the decision today to become an organ donor can potentially lead to saving a life. To add the organ donor designation to an existing driver’s license or identification card, individuals can visit the Driver and Vehicle Services website and select the “Become an organ donor in 30 seconds” icon. There is no charge for adding the designation to your driver’s license or identification card.
The public is encouraged to celebrate National Donate Life Blue & Green Day today by wearing blue and green, the recognized colors of organ donation organizations, to engage in sharing the donate life message and promoting the importance of registering as an organ, eye, and tissue donor.
Individuals can also support organ donation programs by donating $3 to the Governor Robert P. Casey Memorial Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Trust Fund at the time of application and/or renewal for their driver’s license or identification card or registered vehicle.
Dr. Lisa R. Battat, Chairperson of the Pennsylvania Organ Donation Advisory Committee on behalf of Donate Life Pennsylvania, highlighted the transformative impact of organ, tissue, and cornea donations, stating that people within days of death can recover and lead long lives, blindness can be cured, and skin grafts can allow badly burned firefighters to resume their duties.
PennDOT and DOH have installed video monitors featuring educational content at 12 PennDOT photo license centers, and ads promoting organ donation regularly run on the Motor Vehicle Network at driver license centers. For more information on organ and tissue donation in Pennsylvania or to sign up to become an organ donor, visit www.donatelifepa.org, www.core.org or www.donors1.org. Remember, it only takes 30 seconds to save a life!
