If you wish to become an organ donor you must tell a family member and sign up. You can sign up either online, through the mail, or by talking to your doctor.

Many people who wish to be organ donors do not get to because they do not tell their family. By the time your will is read it will be too late to retrieve your organs.

It is important to register with the state as well as signing your driver’s license. In the event of any accident your license may not me readily available, register with the New York State Center for Organ and Tissue Donor Registry to ensure your wishes are carried out.

You must be considered brain dead to be able to give your organs. Brain death is irreversible and the person cannot recover.

The donor must remain on life support to keep the organs viable until the procurement team arrives to harvest the organs or tissue. This allows the heart to beat and oxygen to be delivered to the body.

Neither your age nor your medical history can stop you from being a donor. The transplant team will evaluate which organs can be used and which cannot at the time of death.

Register online to become an organ donor.

This is an article published by my Uncle Jon Van Vlack on April 20, 2003. Written about the need for organ donation. He was one of the many in New York State on the waiting list. He did not receive an organ in time and passed away on December 23, 2005, his 53^rd birthday.