Organ Donation in California

Organ Donation in California

Did you know 17 people die every day waiting for an organ transplant? Someday, your organ donation (heart transplant, kidney transplant, etc.) could help save multiple lives.

How to become an organ donor in California:

  • Go online and register on the Donate Life California website.
    OR
  • Visit your local California DMV office and register during licensing transactions.

About Donate Life California

The State of California partners with a nonprofit organization called the Donate Life California Organ and Tissue Donor Registry to make organ donor registration easy.

Visita Done Vida California para registrar en español.

The Donate Life California Organ & Tissue Donor Registry offers various ways to make a difference through cash and vehicle contributions, e-Campaigns, “living donations," and volunteer opportunities. For more information about other ways to help besides organ donation, please visit the Donate Life California website.

How to Register as a California Organ Donor

To register as an organ donor in California, you may:

  • Log onto the Donate Life California Organ and Tissue Donor Registry website.
  • Sign up through ORGANIZE.org, a national registry database that carries your registration from state to state.
  • Visit any local CA DMV office.

NOTE: If you're between 13 and 17 years old, you may join the CA organ donor registry, but your parents/guardians will ultimately make the final decision about donating your organs.

Organ Donor Registration at the California DMV

You may register as an organ donor at the California Department of Motor Vehicles when you renew or apply for a new CA driver's license or identification card.

STEP 1: Visit your local CA DMV office.

STEP 2: Check the “YES! I want to be an organ and tissue donor" box on the California Driver License or Identification Card Application.

STEP 3: That's all! The CA DMV will issue you a driver's license or ID card marked with a pink organ donor sticker. You'll also receive a donor card to keep with you everyday, which requires the signature of a witness.

Organ donation in California is that simple and there are absolutely no fees involved.

NOTE: You may update your donor profile at the Donate Life California website to limit organ and tissue donations, authorize medical research and transplants, or remove yourself from the registry.

California Organ & Tissue Donation Facts

Donating your healthy organs for transplant can help save up to 8 lives or approximately 50 people with a tissue donation. Millions Californians have already made the pledge to donate tissue and organs when they pass.

Organ Donation

As an organ donor, you give consent to the following life-saving organ transplants:

  • Heart.
  • Liver.
  • Pancreas.
  • Kidney.
  • Lungs.
  • Small bowel.

Donating Tissue

Here are several common examples of tissue donations:

  • Eyes/corneas.
  • Heart valves.
  • Bones.
  • Skin grafts.
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