Please fill out the form to register as an organ and tissue donor. By registering as a donor you consent to donate your organs and tissues at the time of your death. Organs and tissues will be recovered for the purpose of transplantation, however, in the event a donated organ or tissue cannot be used for transplant, an effort will be made to use the donation for research.
October 5, 2023
Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency (MORA) is launching a new campaign aimed at having more Mississippians add their names to the organ donor registry. MORA enlisted the help of local stand-outs in the community—from a State Senator to a Hip-Hop artist and everywhere in between—to deliver the message about why this is such an important conversation in our state.
Among those lending a hand to help spread the word are:
View the ad here or watch for these familiar faces on your local streaming service, on social media platforms, and on billboards across the greater Jackson area, encouraging everyone to have the conversation about donation with their loved ones and to add their name to the registry at www.YesYouShould.org. “Regardless of who we are, what we do, or where we come from, everyone can agree that having more registered donors benefits our community as a whole. It’s time to get serious about helping our neighbors by separating the facts from the myths, having tough conversations, and registering as organ and tissue donors,” said Belinda Lane, Community Outreach Coordinator for MORA.
In Mississippi, almost 70% of patients waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant, including 90% of those who are waiting for a kidney, are Black/African-American. One reason for these high percentages is higher rates of heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes—diseases that lead to organ failure. While donors and recipients from different ethnic backgrounds can and do often match, everyone on the transplant waiting list has a better chance of receiving the needed organ(s) when there are many donors from their racial or ethnic background. Compatible blood types and tissue markers, which play a crucial role in matching donors with recipients, are more likely to be found among people of the same ethnicity. The more people from your ethnic group who are willing to donate, the more likely you or your loved one are to find a timely, compatible match with a successful long-term outcome.
Approximately 1,300 Mississippians and 100,000+ Americans need an organ transplant to survive. A new patient is added to the national transplant waiting list every 9 minutes, and an average of 17 people die each day awaiting a lifesaving transplant that never comes. One organ donor can save eight lives, and one tissue donor can save or improve the lives of 75 recipients or more. Registering as an organ, eye, and tissue donor can be done online in less than two minutes at www.YesYouShould.org.
