Donor Information

How to Give the Gift of Life

When you apply for your Iowa driver's license, you will be asked if you would like to register as an organ donor. If you check "yes" on your Iowa driver's license application form, you've given legal consent to donate your organs after your death.

If you wish to also donate your corneas and tissue or allow your organs to be used in medical research, you must be listed on the Iowa Donor Registry as well. You may choose to carry a donor card in your wallet, but this is not required.

Anyone Can Donate

Any Iowa resident can be considered for organ donation. There are no age requirements and no costs associated with the procedure.

While your medical history will affect how many of your organs are usable, it will not automatically bar you from being considered for organ donation. For example, many cancer patients can still be approved as donors.

The Iowa Donor Network is the nonprofit organization in charge of organ, tissue, and eye donation for the state of Iowa. Donated organs are distributed to transplant recipients based on factors such as length of time on the waiting list, blood type, geographical location, and severity of illness. Criteria such as income, age, gender, or race are never considered. It's illegal to buy or sell organs.

Organ Donation Myths

While organ donation rates have increased slightly in recent years, there are still many misconceptions about the process. One of the most common organ donation myths is that some people can't donate because of their religious beliefs. Roman Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, Protestantism, and all other major religions now support organ donation.

Many prospective Iowa organ donors believe that organ donation is pointless, because they've heard stories about transplant recipients dying shortly after the procedure. However, more than 20,000 solid organ transplants and 450,000 tissue transplants are performed annually in the United States. Between 80% and 90% of these transplants are successful.