posted May 15, 2008
The Tennessee Department of Safety announced that more than one million Tennesseans have signed up as organ and tissue donors on the state-authorized Donate Life Tennessee Organ and Tissue Donor Registry. The milestone follows last month’s public awareness campaign focused on donor registration at TDOS Driver License Service Centers and County Clerk Offices.
“This is very good news for the 2,077 people in Tennessee who need life-saving organ transplants and the thousands more who need tissue transplants to enhance their quality of life,” said Department of Safety Commissioner Dave Mitchell. “We are proud that our role in Donate Life Tennessee is increasing the number of registered donors and saving lives. We are making it easier for all Tennesseans to join their one million fellow citizens who have already decided to give the gift of life.”
Tragically, one-third of the more than 99,000 Americans, currently waiting for life-saving organ transplants, could die due to the critical shortage of donors, but Tennesseans can make a positive impact on that statistic.
Anyone, who checks YES to become a donor when applying for or renewing a driver’s license or I.D. card, will be registered in the official Donate Life Tennessee registry. A small red heart is placed in the upper right-hand corner of the driver’s license photo to show that person is registered. A donor has the potential to save eight lives as an organ donor and improve up to 50 others as a tissue donor.
“The one million mark is only our first victory,” said Jill Maxfield, president of Donate Life Tennessee, the non-profit organization created through legislation by the Tennessee General Assembly to administer the donor registry. “The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has set a goal of reaching 100 million registered donors nationwide by July 1, 2010, roughly 50 percent of all eligible adults in the United States.”
“To do our part, we need more than one million more Tennesseans to sign up to save lives,” said TDOS Deputy Commissioner Greta Dajani. “As of April 30, the actual number of Tennessee registrants was 1,046,892, which is 24 percent of the 4,387,883 Tennesseans with a valid driver’s license or state I.D.”
During the month of April alone, over 30,000 new organ donors were registered through help from a statewide public awareness campaign that included donor designation booths at driver license service centers and events at the State Capitol and county clerk offices.
The West 40 Driver License Service Center located at 207 Center Park Drive in Knoxville and the Williamson County Driver License Center located at 3830 Carothers Parkway in Franklin are recognized for registering the highest rate of organ and tissue donors during the month of April.
42 percent of all drivers who entered those stations to obtain or renew their license checked YES on their application to be a registered donor during the month of April.
Tennesseans can register to be a donor at any TDOS Driver License Center or with Donate Life Tennessee at www.tndonorregistry.org. For those who have previously registered as a donor through TDOS, Donate Life Tennessee will help them fulfill their desire to donate by adding them to the Tennessee Organ and Tissue Donor Registry.
State law requires that every time an applicant renews a driver license, he or she must mark YES on the application to be a registered donor.
“We believe Donate Life Tennessee will increase organ and tissue donation, saving and renewing the lives of thousands of people in Tennessee and across the U.S.” said Mid-South Transplant Foundation Interim Executive Director Kim Van Frank. “By securely registering their decision to donate, Tennesseans can be sure their wish to give the gift of life will be carried out.”
“As a result of our partnership with the Department of Safety, we have been able to register more Tennesseans than ever for organ and tissue donation,” said Lisa Clark, Senior Public Education coordinator for Tennessee Donor Services. “With the help of TDOS, we believe we will achieve our goal of having 50 percent of licensed drivers in Tennessee as registered donors.”
Donate Life Tennessee is a non-profit, state-authorized organ and tissue donor registry, administered by the state’s two organ procurement organizations, responsible for facilitating the donation process in Tennessee: Tennessee Donor Services and Mid-South Transplant Foundation.
The Donate Life Registry assures that all personal information is kept confidential and stored in a secure database, accessible only to authorized OPO personnel.
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