Registering to become an organ donor is a personal decision. But doing so has never been easier.
In Virginia, you can sign up:
- At the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) when you obtain or renew a learner’s permit, driver’s license or state ID card
- Online at DonateLifeVirginia.org
Donors Change Lives
In 2020, roughly 40,000 transplants were performed across America—with organs from both deceased and living donors. The three stories below illustrate the life-changing impact that donors like you can have on others.
Visit our Lifeline Blog for more touching stories about Virginians affected by organ donation.
Donors give others a second chance at life.
Evan Ware was a typical college student studying medicine. But after a morning of severe nausea, he rushed to the hospital and was told his liver was failing. Evan’s condition was so critical that he was designated “status 1A,” a label for patients who aren’t likely to live more than a few days without a transplant. Fortunately for Evan, his medical team found a match from a donor named Will—a loving father of four whose organs saved several lives including Evan’s. After undergoing a successful transplant, Evan was able to return to his classes, graduate with honors and begin his residency in osteopathic medicine.
Donors save loved ones.
Milagros Jackson was diagnosed with kidney cancer and needed a transplant. When her daughter Erica learned she was a match, Milagros was reluctant. She worried her daughter might have pain or complications. But since her options were limited, she eventually agreed. After a successful kidney transplant, the two women went on to live healthy, normal and active lives. Two years later, Erica even gave Milagros another gift—a beautiful grandson.
Donors’ memories and kindness live on.
On the morning of December 5, 2017, Melanie Kelly received the call that every mother fears. Her son Zack had been in a horrible car accident and had suffered multiple head injuries, as well as a tear in his aorta, a collapsed left heart ventricle, a punctured lung and several broken bones. After doing everything they could to save Zach, doctors told Melanie the brain damage was beyond repair. The following day, he was declared brain dead. But Zach’s kind spirit lived on. As a registered organ donor, his heart, liver, kidneys, corneas and tissues were all donated, going on to save multiple lives and heal many others.
