When you are admitted to the hospital the number one priority is to save your life. Two doctors not involved in organ and tissue donation must declare you brain dead before organ and tissue donation can be considered.

Organs are allocated according to medical need, blood and tissue type, height and weight. Celebrity status and wealth are not considered.

One person can save eight lives and enhance 50 others through organ, eye and tissue donation.

It is against federal law to sell organs and tissues.

Anyone, regardless of age or medical history, can sign up on the Donate Life California Registry at the DMV (must be at least 13 years of age to sign up online.) Families of registered donors under the age of 18 must still consent to donation before it can be carried out.

You can sign up by checking “YES!” at the DMV when applying for or renewing your driver license or ID.

Anyone can become a potential organ donor regardless of age, ethnicity or medical history.

All major religions support or permit organ, eye and tissue donation.

An open casket funeral is possible for organ, eye and tissue donors. The body is treated with dignity, care and respect throughout the entire donation process.

There is no cost to the donor or their family.

More than 123,000 Americans are currently waiting for an organ transplant, nearly 22,000 live in California. An organ transplant is their only remaining medical option.

On average, 150 people are added to the nation’s organ transplant waiting list each day—one every 10 minutes.

Sadly, an average of 22 patients die every day while waiting, simply because the organ they needed was not donated in time.

Approximately 81 organ transplants take place every day in the United States, that’s more than 29,000 people who begin new lives a year!

A living donor can provide a kidney or a portion of their liver, lung, pancreas or intestine to someone in need.

More than one-third of all deceased donors are age 50 or older, and nearly 10% are age 65 or older.

More than 1 million tissue transplants are performed each year and the surgical need for tissue has been steadily rising. Corneal transplants, meanwhile, restore sight to 50,000 people each year.