In honor of National Donate Life month, PennDOT is reminding residents how simple it is to become an organ donor. In the short 90 seconds it takes to check the box online, you could potentially be saving a life. You don’t even need to pay a replacement ID fee since the process is online.
According to PennDOT, 46% of Pennsylvanians with identification cards are organ donors. However, there are still 8,500 people in our state waiting for organ transplants. If you’re still not convinced to become a donor, Donate Life offers the following facts to educate you:
- Any person of any age, race, or medical history can be a donor.
- All major religions in the United States support organ donation.
- Every ten minutes, another name is added to the organ transplant national waiting list.
- Each day, 18 Americans die while waiting for an organ transplant because of an
- Right now, more than 120,000 men, women, and children are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant.
To become an organ donor, visit the PennDOT site and choose “Donate Life Pennsylvania.” After registering, you’ll receive a temporary card to prove your status until you renew or replace your license. Also, every registered PA driver is given the opportunity to donate $1 to the Robert P. Casey Memorial Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Trust Fund when applying, registering, or renewing a license. The proceeds are used to spread organ donation awareness through non-profits.