PennDOT Customers Can Opt To Save a Life Through Organ Donation

PennDOT Customers Can Opt To Save a Life Through Organ Donation

4/5/2016-KING OF PRUSSIA

PennDOT invites driver license and identification card holders to celebrate

National Donate Life Month in April by registering to be an organ donor and

sharing a unique opportunity to help others in need live longer, better
lives.

Governor Tom Wolf has proclaimed April Donate Life Month in Pennsylvania.

"Potential donors can take action today to give a person awaiting a
transplant
hope by adding the organ donor designation to their license or
identification
card, rather than waiting for renewal time," said PennDOT Secretary Leslie
S.
Richards. "The short amount of time you invest online requesting the
designation for your license or identification card holds the potential to
save
a life."

More than 8,000 Pennsylvanians currently await organ transplants.
Currently,
nearly 46 percent of driver's license and identification card holders are
registered organ donors – that's more than 4.6 million Pennsylvanians.

"More organ donors means more seriously ill individuals awaiting transplant
can
have the opportunity to live a full, productive life," said Secretary of
Health
Dr. Karen Murphy. "There is a transformative power in organ donation; just
one
donor may save up to eight lives and enhance the lives of more than 50
people."

Customers can easily add the organ donor designation to an existing
driver's
license or identification card by visiting www.dmv.pa.gov and selecting the

"Donate Life Pennsylvania" icon in the middle of the home page. Once the
designation is added, individuals will receive a designation card that they

will have to carry with them to affirm organ donor status until they renew
or
replace their driver's license or identification card. There is no charge
for
adding the designation to your driver's license or identification card.

Driver's license and identification card holders, as well as registered
vehicle
owners, can also support organ donation programs by donating $1 to the
Robert
P. Casey Memorial Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Trust Fund at the
time of
application and/or renewal. Proceeds from the fund are used to educate and
promote awareness of the organ donor program through non-profit
organizations
like the Center for Organ Recovery and Education and the Gift of Life Donor

Program. Pennsylvanians have generously donated nearly $13 million to the
fund
over the past 20 years.

As part of ongoing efforts to increase awareness of organ and tissue
donation,
video monitors featuring educational content are installed at 20 PennDOT
photo
license centers. More information on organ and tissue donation in
Pennsylvania
can be found at www.donatelife-pa.org.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Alexis Campbell, PennDOT, 717-787-0485, Amy Worden, Department of Health,
717-772-5014
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