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.
There are five ways to enroll in Mississippi’s Donor Registry.
Organ donation includes:
Tissue donation includes:
Sharing your decision to become a donor is just as important as making the decision. Joining the Mississippi Donor Registry is more than just an expression of interest in becoming a donor. It is consent for organ, eye and tissue donation upon your death. Losing a loved one is an emotional time for family members. If they are aware of your decision, it will avoid confusion on end-of-life decisions. It’s also important to tell family members about your decision because medical and social history is needed at the time of death, and the next of kin will be approached for that information.
Once you enroll with the Mississippi Donor Registry, your donor designation grants legally binding authorization for organ, eye and tissue recovery. Should you be in the position to donate, your next of kin will be presented with documentation of your registration but will not have the power to override your decision. It is important to tell your next of kin or healthcare power of attorney of your wishes so they will be prepared to cooperate with the healthcare team about your medical history.
With the Mississippi Donor Registry, your desire to donate is stored in a secure, confidential database.
Do not rule yourself out. The fact that you want to be a donor is something to be celebrated, and we encourage you to register your decision with pride. In the event you are in a position to be an actual donor, medical specialists will evaluate your medical history to determine your potential to donate.
Of the dozens of state donor registries now in operation, to date, there have been no reported problems with persons registering people other than themselves. The authenticity of the registrant can be determined using the date/time of the registration and the personal information requested during the enrollment process. Family members are also consulted at the time of donation and will be able to verify the donor’s information at that time.
Yes, take the opportunity to enroll. Due to the rapid and emotional nature of events surrounding sudden death, often families do not have time to check legal documents prior to being approached about donation. However, since the Mississippi Donor Registry and National Donor Registry are checked in all potential donation cases prior to approaching the family, recovery personnel are able to share proof of registration with family members at the time donation is discussed with them.
Federal law does not allow you to restrict your donation to or from specific groups or classes of individuals.
Each state recognizes and accepts your donor designation as a legally binding document. Outside of the United States, organ donation comes under the jurisdiction of each country’s respective laws.
Organ, tissue and eye donation is the process of recovering organs, tissue and/or corneas from a deceased person and transplanting them into others in order to save or heal the lives of those in need. Up to eight lives can be saved through organ donation. Another 75 or more lives may be improved through tissue donation. The vision of two people can be restored through eye donation.
There are currently over 100,000 people in America waiting for organ transplants. Each day approximately 17 people die waiting for an organ transplant that would have given them a second chance at life with their families. A person is added to the national transplant waiting list every 9 minutes. In addition, each year hundreds of thousands of people benefit from donated tissue and corneal grafts that are used for lifesaving, sight-restoring and reconstructive purposes.
Most of the state of Mississippi is served by the Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency. MORA is responsible for facilitating the donation process. Organ recovery and allocation are regulated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a division of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
Organs are allocated nationally based on a complex medical formula that is established by transplant doctors, public representatives, ethicists, and organ recovery agencies. UNOS (the United Network for Organ Sharing) maintains the list of patients waiting for a transplant. A donor’s blood type, tissue type, body weight, and size are matched against patients on the list. If there are multiple matches, priority is given to the sickest patients or, in the case of kidneys, those who have been on the waiting list the longest.
You may choose to donate only specific organs or tissues, including eyes. By choosing to donate any or all transplantable organs and tissues, including eyes, you will be helping the most people to thrive from your gift. You can make these specifications after you register through registerme.org and then access your account.
Specifying that an organ goes to a specific individual is called “directed donation.” Directed donation is legal, but it must be done at the time of donation and must be directed to a recipient who is actively listed with a transplant program. (Organs may not be directed to a group of individuals.) Directed donation is best supported by an advance directive or may be granted by next of kin at the time of donation.
No! Medical and nursing care are not affected in any way by your status as a registered donor. Every attempt is made to save your life.
In most cases, organ donation occurs when a patient suffers a traumatic brain injury resulting in brain death. After all lifesaving efforts have been exhausted, and it is determined that the patient’s death is imminent, only then is organ donation considered.
Virtually all deceased persons, regardless of the cause of death, may potentially be tissue or eye donors. Once a death is reported to the local recovery agency, protocols require that the family be contacted within a few hours regarding the opportunity to donate.
Once death has been declared, and authorization is received through the donor registry (or from the family in lieu of a registration), medical professionals must conduct tests to determine whether the patient is suitable to be a donor. Blood tests and other standard medical procedures determine the patient’s blood type, organ function, exposure to transmittable diseases, and tissue typing for the purpose of matching organs to recipients. These tests are medically necessary in order to save as many lives as possible.
No. Buying and selling organs, tissue and eyes for the purpose of transplantation is illegal in the United States. Under the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act of 1984, human organs, tissue and eyes cannot be bought or sold, and violators are subject to fines and imprisonment. This strict regulation prevents any type of “black market” for organs, eyes and tissue in the United States. Medically speaking, illegal sales are impossible because recovered organs, tissue and eyes must be appropriately matched to recipients and distributed according to national policy established by United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS).
No. There is no cost to the donor’s family for organ, tissue and eye donation. Once death has been declared and authorization is confirmed through the donor registry, or from the family in lieu of the registry, all costs associated with organ, tissue and eye recovery are assumed by the organ, tissue and eye recovery organizations. Hospital expenses incurred before the donation of organs or tissues in attempt to save the donor’s life and funeral expenses remain the responsibility of the donor’s estate.
All costs associated with recovery are assumed by the organ, tissue and eye recovery organizations. These costs are then reimbursed by transplant centers (who in turn bill private and public insurance plans) and by Medicare, in the case of kidney transplants.
No. Donor families do not receive payment for organ, tissue and eye donation. In the United States, it is illegal to sell human organs, tissue or eyes.
Once an individual has made the decision to be an organ, tissue and eye donor and has joined the Mississippi Donor Registry, that individual’s decision is honored. At the time when donation is possible, family members will be informed of their loved one’s wish to donate and walked through the process so they will know and understand how the recovery agency will carry out the deceased’s decision to be a donor. In the event of a loved one’s sudden death, it will ease the family’s pain to already know the wishes of their loved one regarding donation. For this reason, we recommend that you share your wishes with your family today.
Though the answers vary from one denomination to another, research has found that all major Western religions do support donation and transplantation.
No. The body is treated with great respect and dignity throughout the process, and the donor’s appearance following donation still allows for an open-casket funeral. Once the organ, tissue and eye recovery process is completed, the body is released to the donor’s family (or, if legally required first, to the local medical examiner’s office). From the time the donation process begins, the entire process is usually completed within 24 to 36 hours, and the family may then proceed with funeral arrangements.
Confidentiality is provided both for the donor families and the recipients. The recovery agency can act as a liaison if the recipient wishes to correspond anonymously with the donor family or vice versa. It is only after extended anonymous communication and the agreement of both parties that the names are released.
