Michigan Organ Donor Registry

It is the transplanting of viable organs and tissues from a deceased person into recipients to save or enhance their quality of life.

People of all ages and medical histories should consider themselves potential organ and tissue donors. Your medical condition at the time of death will determine what can be donated.

Donor corneal tissue may be completely healthy even if the donor's eyesight was poor as many causes of vision loss do not affect the cornea. Donated eyes and corneas that are not suitable for transplantation can, with authorization, provide much-needed information for researchers or for clinicians being trained in ophthalmic surgical procedures and corneal tissue recovery, preparation and evaluation. Vision research studies advance the knowledge of causes and effects of blinding eye conditions and lead to new treatments and cures.

The Michigan Organ Donor Registry is a confidential database of residents who wish to be organ and tissue donors. The registry is maintained by the Department of State. It contains your name, address and date of birth. Gift of Life Michigan, the state's authorized organ recovery organization, may access the database to assist hospitals if a transplant is pending.

You may add your name to the Online Michigan Organ Donor Registry or at any Secretary of State branch office. Once you enroll, you will receive a heart sticker for your driver's license or state identification card, designating your decision to be an organ and tissue donor. If you have signed up prior to Jan. 1, 2007, you will need to re-enroll to update your registration and receive a heart sticker for your license or ID card.

Being registered means you have decided to donate your organs, tissues and eyes when you die if medically suitable, and you have enrolled on the Michigan Organ Donor Registry to designate your decision.

Enrolling on the donor registry signifies that you have made your own decision, relieving your family of the stress of making a decision for you in its time of loss. Your decision to donate is upheld by state law, sometimes called "First Person Authorization." No one can legally override your decision after your death. It is important to discuss your decision with your family, to avoid any surprises later.

Your family will be involved in and cared for throughout the donation process. They will be asked to provide a medical and social history, to the best of their knowledge. Gift of Life Michigan and/or Eversight's donation teams will work with your family to address any concerns or questions they may have.

If you want to be a donor but would prefer not to add your name to the donor registry, it is extremely important to talk to your family about your decision. If you are not on the donor registry, your family may be asked to make a decision on your behalf. To ensure your wish is carried out, it is important to clearly share it with family members, so they can support your preference at the time of death.

Signing up to be a donor is easy. You may enroll using the Online Michigan Organ Donor Registry. You may also sign up when you renew or request a replacement license or state ID card through Online Services or when you obtain a replacement or renew your driver's license or ID card at a Secretary of State office. Michigan law supports your right to make your own donation decision - no further authorization is required once you enroll on the registry. However, it is still important to talk to your family about your desire to be an organ, tissue and eye donor, so it is aware of your intention and to avoid any delays or confusion.

At the time of death, if medically suitable, your family may be approached to discuss the opportunity to donate your organs, tissues and eyes. If you have already made that decision and joined the Michigan Organ Donor Registry, your family will be informed of your decision. If you are not already registered, your family will be asked to consider donating. A medical professional from Gift of Life Michigan or Eversight will explain the donation process and answer questions/

Visit the Online Michigan Organ Donor Registry or any Secretary of State office for a replacement sticker. The next time you apply of a Michigan's driver's license or state identification card, the heart insignia will be printed directly on your card (no need for a new sticker).

Significant advances in surgical procedures and in the development of medicines have made possible the transplantation of the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, pancreas and intestine. Tissues used for transplantation include corneas and sclera, heart valves, skin, bone, nerves, ligaments, tendons, veins, cartilage and bone marrow.

One organ donor can save up to eight lives, and one tissue donors can help heal 75 or more injured or sick patients.

There is no age limit for donation. Anyone can be considered a potential organ and tissue donor. The best thing to do is add your name to the Michigan Organ Donor Registry and share your decision with your family.

There is a critical need for organs, tissues and eyes throughout the U.S. The criteria for donation are constantly changing. Do not exclude yourself from the possibility of donation on the basis of age or medical history. Many of the people on the transplant waiting list will die before the organ or tissue they need is available, so it is crucial that every potential donor be considered.

Donor eye tissue may be completely healthy even if the donor's eyesight was poor as many causes of vision loss do not affect the cornea. Donated eyes and corneas that are not suitable for transplantation can, with authorization, provide much-needed information for researchers or for clinicians being trained in ophthalmic surgical procedures and corneal tissue recovery, preparation and evaluation. Vision research studies advance the knowledge of causes and effects of blinding eye conditions and lead to new treatments and cures.

You may be able to donate organs and tissue, depending on the type of cancer and whether it is in remission. If the cancer is not blood-borne or has not progressed to the eye, eye donation is an option and may provide two people with the gift of sight.

No, it is optional to add your name to the state organ donor registry. Anyone can join regardless of their age, health or social history. We encourage anyone considering the decision to donate to discuss it with their family and friends first.

Once you sign up to be an organ donor, your name will stay on the state organ donor registry unless you ask to have it removed.

When a donor passes away, a medical professional will determine which organs and tissues can be used to help others (such as: the heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, intestines, pancreas, corneas, bone, tendons, skin, heart valves, veins and nerves). One person can donate up to eight life-saving organs and tissues that can improve the lives of up to 75 people and even contribute to critical eye and vision research.

Organs, eyes and tissue are recovered through a dignified surgical procedure conducted with the highest level of care and respect for the donor. Furthermore, their medical care is not impacted by the decision to be a donor.

While minors can join the donor registry without the consent of a parent or legal guardian, all decisions about organ donation are made by parents or guardians of donors under age 18.

More information on organ donation

Once you have signed up on the donor registry, your decision cannot be changed by others. At the time of your death, your family will be informed of your wish to donate and a medical professional will answer any questions or concerns they may have. That conversation goes much more smoothly if your family already knows you wanted to be a donor, so it is important to have that family conversation in advance.

In most cases, knowing their loved one's generosity saved and healed others is a positive legacy that donor families embrace. If often helps in their grieving to know that their loved one's gifts are still with us. Gift of Life Michigan and Eversight offer many support services for donor families in the days, months and years after the donation takes place.

If you join when you renew or when you get your first driver's license or state ID card, you'll have a heart symbol printed on your new driver's license or state ID card. If you join before your license expires, you'll receive a heart symbol sticker to be placed on your license or ID card. When your license or ID card expires, you'll be sent a new one with the heart symbol printed on it after you renew. If you lose your heart symbol sticker, you can easily order a new one.

When a patient needs a transplant, their name is added to the national transplant waiting list. The federal Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (OPTN) oversees the waiting list and works with organ donation professionals as organs become available for transplant.

Strict federal guidelines ensure the ethical and equitable distribution of donated organs. The matching process incorporates information such as blood type, tissue typing, medical urgency, body size, length of time waiting and geographic proximity between the donor and potential recipients.

Age, sex, gender, race, ethnicity, occupation and social or financial status are not considered in the matching status.

Race and gender are not factors, but organ size is critical in matching a donor heart, lung or liver with a recipient. Genetic makeup is a crucial factor when matching a kidney or pancreas donor and recipient. Cross-racial donations can, and do, happen with great success when suitable matches are available.

According to the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act of 1984, human organs cannot be bought or sold in the U.S. Violators are subject to fines and imprisonment. This strict regulation, plus the incredible surgical complexity of conducting an organ transplant, prevents any type of U.S. "black market" for organs.

There is no cost to the donor's family for organ, tissue and eye donation. The organ procurement organization or eye bank pays all costs related to recovery. Only the costs of any hospitalization and treatment prior to donation and funeral expenses remain the responsibility of the donor family.

The body of every donor is treated with respect and dignity. As in any other surgery, the recovery of organs and tissues is conducted under sterile conditions in an operating room staffed by qualified surgeons. Eye and cornea recovery can take place at the hospital or funeral home by professionally trained technicians. Donation need not interfere with an open casket. Gift of Life Michigan and Eversight work closely with the donor's family to meet any specific funeral presentation requests. Only those directly involved will ever know about the donation unless the donor family chooses to share that they made this generous final gift.

Donor and recipient identity and other detailed personal information are classified unless both parties agree to waive confidentiality. In general, only basic information such as the age, gender and occupation of the recipient or donor as well as the general geographic area may be shared. The recipient may also be told the circumstances of donor's death, while the donor's family may receive feedback on how a recipient's transplant is progressing.

All major religions throughout the world support organ, tissue and eye donation as a humanitarian act of giving. Transplantation is consistent with the life-preserving traditions of these faiths. Donate Life America has more information on this issue.

That's when a patient receives an organ from a living donor. Living donations offer an alternative for patients waiting for a transplant and help increase the existing organ supply. Depending on what organ is needed, living donations may consist of the entire organ, such as a kidney, or a segment of an organ, such as a lobe of the liver or lung. Organs suitable for a living donation are the kidney, liver, lung, pancreas, intestine, and in rare cases, the heart. Living heart transplants are conducted when a patient receives a "heart-lung bloc" because it is determined that the donor lungs will function best if they are not separated from the donor heart. The patient's own heart may then be given to someone waiting for a heart transplant.

If you know someone who needs a transplant and are considering making a living donation, please contact that person's transplant center. If you do not have a specific patient in mind, you can contact Transplant Living for additional information about anonymous living donations.

The option to cancel your registration is always available. You may cancel your registration by going to online services or at any Secretary of State office by presenting your driver's license or ID card.

For more information, please contact the following organizations:

Organ and tissue donation: Gift of Life Michigan at 1-866-500-5801 or visit giftoflifemichigan.org.

Eye donation and cornea transplantation: Eversight at eversightvision.org.

Also, additional information can be found on our Organ Donation page.

Gift of Life Michigan is a nonprofit, full-service organ recovery organization that acts as the intermediary between donors, physicians and hospital staff. It provides all services necessary for organ and tissue donation and transplantation for the state. This includes education, retrieval, preservation and organ placement as well as tissue-typing services. Contact the Gift of Life Michigan at 1-866-500-5801 or www.giftoflifemichigan.org.

Eversight is a nonprofit eye bank network based in Ann Arbor, Mich. with a mission to restore sight and prevent blindness through the healing power of eye donation, corneal transplantation and vision research. Eversight is responsible for recovering, evaluating and providing donor eye tissue for transplantation; supporting research into the causes and cures of blinding eye conditions; promoting donation awareness through public and professional education; and providing humanitarian aid to people around the world in need of corneal transplantation. For more information visit http://www.eversightvision.org.