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Who can be a donor?
Anyone, regardless of age, race, or gender can become
an organ donor. Organs and tissue that can’t be
used for transplantation, due to advanced age or disease,
can often be used to help find cures for serious illnesses.
How do I become a donor?
- Tell your family. Hospitals will not remove any
organs or tissue without permission from the donor’s
family.
- Contact the Missouri Organ Donor Registry at 888.497.4564,
or get the online application form at http://www.health.state.mo.us/OrganDonor/Reg.pdf
 How
are recipients selected?
Law under the National Transplant Act strictly mandates
the selection process. A carefully monitored system
allows full and equal access to donated organs and tissues
for all potential recipients.
Criteria for deciding which person on the waiting list
will receive organs or tissues from a particular donor
depends on factors such as the tissue and blood type,
body size and the degree of illness of the potential
recipient.
Is there any cost or payment for organ/tissue donation?
The donor’s family estate is never changed for
the removal of any organs, nor do they receive any compensation.
Does organ/tissue donation
affect funeral practices?
No. Families may make final funeral arrangements, including
an open casket funeral, for burial or cremation.
Is there a conflict between using any organs/tissues
and saving my life?
No. Donation is not considered until all efforts to
save a person have not failed. The transplant team has
no involvement in the patient’s care prior to
death and is notified only after death has occurred.
What organs/tissues can be donated?
Organs that can be donated are the heart, lungs, liver,
pancreas and kidneys.
Among the tissues can be donated are corneas to restore
sight, bone to prevent amputation, heart valves for
children born with heart problems or adults with heart
disease, tendons to replace damaged tissues in injured
joints, saphenous veins for bypass surgeries and skin
as a temporary covering to reduce pain and infection
in burn victims. Up to 50 people can benefit from a
single donor.
How is donation viewed by
my religion?
All major western religions support donation as a final,
charitable act of giving to others.
What if I change my mind?
You may ask to remove your name from the Donor Registry
at any time by calling 888.497.4564. If you have signed
the donor card on your license/ID card, simply write
VOID across it.
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The Donor Registry is a computerized database that
documents your wishes regarding donation. The Registry
provides valuable information to families who are unaware
of a loved one’s intentions and are asked at the
hospital for consent donate.
All information is confidential. Only organ banks and
coroners have access.
 How
do I join registry?
When you visit the Driver’s Services facility,
you will be asked if you intend to sign the organ/tissue
donor portion on the back of the driver’s license
and would like to join the registry. Your response is
entered on your record. You can register by phone by
calling the Organ Donor Registry at 888.497.4564, or
via the Internet by accessing their online application
form.
Does the registry replace
the donor card on the back of my driver’s license
or ID card?
No. The Registry is meant as a supplement, not a replacement,
to the uniform organ donor card on the back of the driver’s
license. But either action still depends on consent
from the next-of-kin before any organs can be removed.
So please talk to your family.
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Today, all across Missouri, thousands of people are
able to live fuller and more productive lives because
of the lifesaving decisions made by families like yours.
Although it is hard to believe at the time, it is possible
for something positive to come from death...a new life
for someone else.
Many donor families have found comfort in knowing that
they and their loved one have helped life go on for
someone else.
Families of prospective donors must give their permission
before donation of a loved one’s organs and tissues
can occur. It is much easier for your family to make
the decision to donate if they know your wishes ahead
of time.
Will organ/tissue donation affect the level of medical
care my loved one receives?
No. Donation is never considered until all efforts
to save your loved one have failed.
How does the family communicate an individual’s
wish to donate organs/tissues?
Federal law states that hospitals must offer you the
option of donating your loved one’s organs. But
don’t wait to be asked. Approach the hospital
staff or coroner’s staff and make your loved one’s
wishes known.
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