MS Department of Public Safety Registers One Million Organ and Tissue Donors

January 11, 2022

Jackson, MS – January 11, 2022: The number of Mississippians who have registered to be organ and tissue donors through the Department of Public Safety has reached a major milestone – one million donor registrations!

“Our partnership with Donate Life Mississippi has increased public awareness of organ donation and urged many to take action. We are proud to have been able to make a difference in the lives of those in Mississippi waiting for life-saving transplants,” stated Kevin Raymond, Director of the Driver Service Bureau. “The registration process is simple: saying “YES!” when you are asked if you want to be an organ and tissue donor when you get and/or renew your driver’s license or state ID. Each person can potentially save so many lives.”

Donate Life Mississippi (DLMS) is a partnership formed by Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency (MORA), Mid-South Transplant Foundation (MSTF), Mississippi Lions Eye Bank (MLEB) and Mississippi Department of Public Safety (DPS) that is dedicated to promoting the need for organ, eye and tissue donation and encouraging everyone to register.

According to Kevin Stump, Chief Executive Officer, Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency: “We cannot overstate the impact the staff members of the Department of Public Safety have on saving lives of people in Mississippi. We are extremely grateful to each of them as they ask their customers: “Would you like to register as an organ and tissue donor today?”

Kim Van Frank, Executive Director, Mid-South Transplant Foundation adds: “We recognize the DPS staff for their support. Their dedication and hard work saves lives, restores sight, heals burns and enhances thousands of Mississippians. And while we celebrate this milestone, we still have a lot of work to do. Mississippi’s donor registration rate is currently at 35% while the national goal is 50% so we encourage those who have not registered their decision to take the next step and register at registerme.org.”

According to the latest report by the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS), there are more than 1,300 people waiting for an organ transplant Mississippi. They are among the 106,774 across the U.S. waiting for a second chance at life.

An average of 20 people die each day because an organ did not become available in time. In fact, every 10 minutes another name is added to the national organ transplant waiting list. One organ and tissue donor can save 8 lives, restore sight to 2 people, and enhance more than 75 people’s lives tissue donation.

To join those Mississippians who are currently on the registry as organ, eye and tissue donors or for more information, visit www.registerme.org