|  | Conditions Treatments | Wounds Injuries

Donor Card Information

Unless you're planning on taking your physical body with you to the afterlife, why not donate its parts so they can help someone else? You may aid in the discovery of a new medical procedure, help a blind child to see, extend the life of a mother so she can see her kids grow or allow an athlete to achieve his lifelong dream. You'll need a donor card to achieve this life-saving pursuit.

  1. Description

    • A donor card is a document the size of a business card that says that you want to donate specific organs and tissues, or your entire body. You need to sign and date it in the presence of two witnesses and carry a copy with you. Many driver's license applications and renewals contain this card, so you can keep it with your license. In any case, always carry a copy in your wallet or purse. You can download the document using the link under Resources.

    Notifications

    • Although you can rely on police and medical personnel to read this card in case you suffer a fatal accident, they may not get the information in time for your donation to be viable. Thus, make sure that all the important people in your life are informed, including your significant other, relatives, close friends, clergy and doctor. If your state has a donor registry, join it and make sure your wishes are included in any wills or advance directives.

    Religion

    • Consult with your local cleric to ensure that your directives meet the tenets of your religion. Most major religions like Catholicism, Judaism and Islam encourage organ donation as a selfless moral act that saves lives. However, some religions, like Shinto, prohibit this practice, or, like the Quakers, do not have an official position.

    Basics

    • Any person of any age, even with a medical condition, can donate even partially. Necessary parts include organs, tissue, stem cells and blood to donate to individuals, or your whole body can be donated for medical research. Depending on your wishes, your donation can be effected after brain death or after cardiac death.

    Transplants

    • According to the official U.S. government site, your donation needs to be matched to a suitable recipient as quickly as possible, since some organs such as the heart and lungs can survive outside the body only for four to six hours. Transplants usually occur based on a person's position on a waiting list. For example, the average wait time for a heart is 230 days, while that of a lung stretches out to 1,068 days.

Wounds Injuries - Related Articles