Making the Choice to Donate

The Hawaii Coalition on Donation seeks to promote awareness of the often misunderstood subject of organ donation. It is also where you can find answers to any questions you might have as a potential donor. Ultimately making the choice to donate is a very personal one, so it's a good idea to get the facts first, perhaps discuss the topic with your family and then decide.

How to Register

Those ready to register as an organ donor and potentially aid the lives of 50 individuals awaiting a transplant in Hawaii alone can do so when applying for or renewing a driver's license or state ID card. It only requires checking the box on the application form. Your choice will be noted on your driver's license with the words "Organ Donor."

This label will tell medical personnel in the event of your death to contact your family and remove any savable organs. It is imperative if you opt to register as a donor that you make your family aware of your choice so as to avoid any conflicts if that situation should come about. You can do this by filling out an organ donor card and having a couple members of your family sign it as witnesses.

Advanced Health Care Directive (AHCD)

Uniquely, Hawaii also enables you to note on your driver's license if you have signed an Advanced Health Care Directive, or AHCD. This document in a sense is a living will that states your wishes in the event you become incapacitated in an accident.

Simply check the box on the license application, right below the organ donor box, and the letters "AHCD" will appear on your license. In the event of an accident after which you are unable to communicate for yourself, these letters on the license will prompt medical personnel to contact your family. Again, your family should be properly informed that you have prepared an AHCD.

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