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You can remove your name from the Donate Life Missouri Registry at any time by going online. Or you can call 888-497-4564 and request a paper form. To remove your name from the national registry, go to RegisterMe.
Due to the fast and emotional nature of events at the time of death, families do not always have time to check legal papers. The Registry helps your loved ones honor your choice. It can also help ease your family’s level of stress and worry at the time of your death when they know your choice. Your Missouri registry record is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to authorized persons.
Most often, your donor card may get missed in the event of your death, or it may not be on your person. Carry your donor card and sign up in the Donate Life Missouri Registry.
When you sign up in the RegisterMe national registry, you are giving permission to donate your organs and tissue. You remain in the registry unless you remove yourself.
When you sign up in the Donate Life Missouri Registry, you are giving permission to donate your organs and tissues when you die as recorded in your record. You will remain the registry unless you remove yourself.
Yes! The Donate Life Missouri Registry gives you options to choose which organs and tissues you want to donate and if you want to give your gift for transplant, research, or both.
Once you decide to be a donor, record your decision. Just as importantly, inform your family of your decision to be an organ, eye and tissue donor. Here are ways you can document your decision.
If you are an adult or a teen who can get a driver's permit/license, you can join the Donate Life Missouri Registry. If you are younger and sign up online, you'll need to give your parents or guardian contact information.
Total body donation, also called willed body donation, is an option. However, most of the time you cannot also be an organ and tissue donor. Sometimes you can be a cornea donor. If you want to donate your entire body, you need to arrange that with the medical school of your choice.
The donor recovery team decides if you can be a donor. Illness doesn’t automatically rule you out in most cases.
Rule yourself in! Even babies and older people have donated. What's important is the health of your organs. The donor recovery team decides if you can be a donor.
If you are an adult, an emancipated minor, or a minor who is allowed to apply for a driver’s license, you can sign up with the Donate Life Missouri Registry. If you are eligible for an instructional permit or graduated license (usually between 15 and 18), and sign up online, you must give contact information for your parents or legal guardian so they can make the final decision about donation if you pass away.
When you turn 18, or if you are an emancipated minor, your choice to be a donor will not need a parent or guardian to approve it at the time of donation. Yet, the donor agency will make every effort to notify your next of kin of your decision. If you have questions about signing up, call 888-497-4564 (it’s a free call).
If someone hasn't signed up to be a donor, there are laws that say who gets to make the decision about donation. There's a list of people who have the first say.
The donation process is complex. The following video helps explain the process.
No. Donation costs the donor’s family or estate nothing. Organ and tissue donation is a gift. Medical costs not related directly to donation and funeral costs are the responsibility of your estate, family, or other responsible party. If the funeral home charges for additional preparation of the body, those costs are paid by the recovery agency. The funeral home needs to contact the recovery agency to request reimbursement.
Yes, you can still have an open casket funeral. The transplant team treats your body with care and respect during the donation process.
No. Saving your life is the priority. Donation becomes possible only after all life-saving methods have failed. The medical team caring for you is separate from the donor agency and transplant teams.
Organ and tissue donation can occur after life or while you are alive. Doctors add their patients to the waiting list, a national computer system. This same system is used to match patients with donors. More than 100,000 people are waiting national wide, and more than 1,600 are waiting in Missouri.
The process begins with your decision to be a living donor or a donor after life. You can register your decision to be a donor after life at
DonateLifeMissouri.org
Find My Home State Registry
You can change your information and choose which organs and tissues you want to donate when you register in Missouri.
After you register, inform your family. If the time comes, they will not be surprised and can help carry out your decision. Your registry record means you have given legal permission for donation. No one can change your consent. If you are under 18, your parents or legal guardian must give permission for your donation.
Yes. The use of medical marijuana will not affect an individual’s ability to be a potential donor. As with any potential donor, a full medical and social history is taken and a medical evaluation is conducted to determine organ viability on a case-by-case basis at or near the time of death. This assessment and the condition of your body at the time of death will determine if you can be a donor.
The Department of Health and Senior Services, by law, shares your information with organ and tissue recovery organizations. Your information is only shared to verify this information in case of a death of a registered donor. The department monitors access by those agencies. The Department will not sell, rent or otherwise share your personal information for use by any other outside party.
The Department of Health and Senior Services maintains the Organ and Tissue Donor Registry information on a secure site. The department may periodically send out information to registry participants as it relates to organ and tissue donation or the registry itself. Therefore, a correct email address is encouraged so that you receive timely notification of any updates. The department also uses the data to produce aggregate reports – NO personal information is ever published. At the time of your death, an authorized healthcare professional will search the registry for your donor status.
Missouri’s Organ and Tissue Donor Registry will automatically log you off after five minutes of inactivity.
When you log off Missouri’s Organ and Tissue Donor Registry, the system automatically clears any temporary cookies. A temporary cookie (special file) is stored on your system during your online session with the registry. Although these measures offer additional protection against unauthorized access to confidential records, it is recommended that you also close your web browser once you log off.
Access the Donate Life Missouri Registry in three ways:
More than 40 state donor registries are currently in operation. To date there has been no reported problems with persons registering people other than themselves. You can check your record via a secure website where you must revalidate personal information before entering your record. The registry has other private security measures to help assure the safety of your information as well. If you have concerns, please contact the Registry.
Your privacy is very important to us, as is safeguarding your personal information. As a state-authorized public service, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services adheres to the strictest and most up-to-date guidelines to keep all personal information confidential. The secure web site uses 128 bit encryption to keep your information confidential during your use of this system.
The registry database is kept in a secure location under physical, electronic and procedural controls that ensure the information is only accessed when authorized.
It is absolutely vital that the individual registrant is identified with 100% certainty should they ever be in a position to be an actual organ or tissue donor. The department never wants to have a donor recovery organization confuse a potential donor who is not registered with someone who is. Therefore, each time you want to modify your record, you will be required to revalidate who you are with personal information.
The department has taken every precaution to protect your information from identity theft.
Your Missouri record, when asked for, will be shared with the local organ recovery agency. The paper will serve as a sign of your choice to be a donor and is shared with your family. Each organ recovery agency is bound to honor the other state’s laws.
Optimal tissue matching can happen within the same racial and genetic background. For example, an individual of Asian descent may match better with a donor of Asian descent. Organs are allocated anonymously according to medical criteria. Regardless of who the donor is, all transplant recipients are thankful to receive the gift of life.
Each person is asked to provide unique personal identifiers, such as date of birth and driver’s license number. This same information is used to confirm your identification.
If you did not sign up in the registry and want a donor card click here.
Access the Registry through the My Record: “Edit“, in the upper right-hand corner of the page. Enter your unique ID information and click on the “Continue” button. You are then given the choice to print your Registry record.
Yes. Once you have accessed your record, you may change your personal information, specify limitation, and specify purpose of donation. You will also have the option to print your record and email your family and friends of your decision.
Access the Registry through the My Record: “Edit“, in the upper right-hand corner of the page. Validate by providing specific information. You will be required to revalidate each time you access the site and the click on Edit. Individuals that do not have access to the web should call 888-497-4564.
Yes. You can access your record by providing specific information. You will need to revalidate your information each and every time before you access your record.
Yes. If your child is under the age of 16 and not emancipated, you may complete a registration form for them. Until a young person is 18 years of age, parents or legal guardians will make the final decision about organ and tissue donation at the appropriate time. The law provides a priority list of who is responsible for making the final donation decision.
If you are an adult, an emancipated minor, or a minor who is authorized to apply for a driver’s license, you can register with the Organ and Tissue Donor Registry. If you are eligible for an instructional permit or graduated license (usually between 15 and 18), you can join the Registry, but you must provide contact information for your parents or legal guardian so they can make the final decision about donation at the time of death. When you become 18 years of age, or if you are an emancipated minor, your choice to be a donor will not require a parent or guardian be given the opportunity to revoke or amend your gift at the time of donation; however, the donor agency will make every attempt to notify your next-of-kin of your decision. If you have questions related to enrollment call (toll free) 888-497-4564.
Note: In the absence of a donor designation or if a person is under the age 18 and is not an emancipated youth, the law provides a priority list of who is responsible for making the final donation decision.
By enrolling in Missouri’s Organ and Tissue Donor Registry, you are giving legal consent for the recovery of your organs, eyes, and tissues for the purpose of transplantation, therapy, research, and/or education at the time of your death. Registry information is kept strictly confidential and can only be accessed by:
Such access is limited and for the sole purpose of identifying potential organ and tissue donors at or near the time of death. The Department of Health and Senior Services employees or their representative have access to the Registry when required for the performance of their official duties as it relates to the Registry and the donation process.
If you have a heart symbol on your driver license or id card, the information is stored in the secure Registry. Check the Registry to make sure your information is correct. The heart on your license or id and a donor card gives consent for donation. But, these papers are rarely available at the time of death. Upon your death and without delay, your registry record is on hand. Your family does not have the burden of making a choice for you during a hard and emotional time.
The Department of Health and Senior Services manages the Registry.
Prior to the first person consent registry, the responsibility for giving consent for donation fell solely on the donor’s family. Unfortunately, family members were often unaware of their loved one’s wishes regarding donation. The Registry eliminates any doubt that a family member may have about your decision do be a donor. Inform your family of your wish about organ and tissue donation. You will have another opportunity when you register your decision or modify your registry record by informing family and friends with an email.
Your dollar donation at the local license office goes to support the Organ Donor Trust Fund. The fund is administered by the State Treasurer and the Missouri Organ and Tissue Donor Program uses the fund to maintain the organ and tissue donor registry and to provide public education.
Suspension, expiration or loss of your instruction permit or driver/non-driver license does not invalidate your gift. If you have questions related to the suspension, expiration, or loss of your document, please contact your local driver license office.
No. You do not have to sign a donor card or your driver license. It is just one way to document or record your decision. Read “How can I become an organ, eye and tissue donor” for other ways to record your decision.
The symbol is a red heart with a green ribbon going through it with the word “donor” above the heart. It will be on the front of your driver/nondriver license.
No. However, you are encouraged to say, “yes”, every time you obtain or renew your instruction permit or driver/nondriver license when asked: “Do you consent to be listed in the Donor Registry System as an organ, eye and tissue donor?” so your information remains current.
Donors range from the very young to the very old. People of all ages should consider themselves likely donors.
Most donations take place within 12 to 24 hours after death. Donation does not delay funeral plans.
As with any donor, medical evaluation is conducted to determine organ viability on a case by case basis at or near the time of death. The HIV Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act allows for research into transplanting organs from HIV-positive donors into HIV-positive recipients. Click to learn about the HOPE Act and participating hospitals.
It depends on the type and location of the cancer. Some cancer patients can be a cornea donor. Cancer survivors who had cancer five or more years ago may be a donor. A full medical and social medical history is taken. The initial finding, care, and follow-up care are studied. All of these measures and the state of the body at death will determine if you can be a donor.
A history of Crohn’s disease does not stop you from being a donor. A full medical and social medical history is taken. That and the condition of your body at the time of death will determine if you can be a donor.
The identity of all parties is kept confidential during the donation process. The donor family and the transplant recipient may receive such information as age, sex and state of residence. Individually, the recipient may be told the circumstances of death, and the donor’s family may be informed of the transplants that were performed and receive feedback on how the health of the recipient(s) has improved.
The donation agencies facilitate all correspondence and meetings that may be initiated by either the donor family or recipient. Both parties must agree before any meetings are arranged.
Buying and selling organs for the purpose of transplantation is illegal in the United States. Under the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act of 1984, human organs cannot be bought or sold, and violators are subject to fines and imprisonment. The strict regulation prevents any type of “black market” for organs in the United States. Medically speaking, illegal sales are not possible in the United States because recovered organs must be appropriately matched to recipients and distributed according to national policy established by UNOS.
Most major religions, with the exception of Shinto, approve of organ and tissue donation and consider it a gift, a humanitarian act of giving. Transplantation is consistent with the life-preserving traditions of most faiths, and others consider donation a matter of personal choice. Visit Organdonor.gov for additional information. If you have any questions, speak to your spiritual or religious advisor.
It is illegal to buy or sell human organs or tissue. Organ and tissue donation is a gift. The family receives no payment or reimbursement for donation.
Donation costs nothing to the donor’s family or estate. Organ and tissue donation is a gift. All costs and expenses incurred after your death and related to donation through the recovery of the organs, eyes, and tissues will be the recovery agency’s responsibility. Medical costs not related directly to donation and funeral costs are the responsibility of your estate, family, or other responsible party. If the funeral home requires payment due to additional preparation of the body, those costs are paid for by the recovery agency.
Your loved one can be a donor and still have an open casket for the funeral. The clothes chosen for the viewing cover any sign of donation. For organ donation, surgery lines are fully covered by all clothing except for a low cut or v-neck top. Skin donation takes skin from the back and legs and is not visible with clothing. A stand-in plastic bone is used to allow the shape of the legs and arms to remain the same for bone donation. For eye donation, a plastic cap is placed over the eye to maintain the shape of the closed eyelid.
Donation does not disfigure the body or change the way it looks in a casket. Donation is a type of surgery and every donor is treated with great care, respect and dignity during the donation process, including careful reconstruction of one’s body. Donation as a rule does not delay funeral plans.
The United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) and the country’s transplant centers have created a waiting list, which has each waiting recipient by weight, height and blood group. Priority depends on scientific and medical factors, including urgency of need, length of time on the waiting list, blood type, and organ size compatibility. Factors such as race, gender, age, income, or celebrity status are never considered when determining who receives an organ.
Medical staff will do everything they can to save your life. The doctors and nurses that work to save your life are not the same doctors and nurses involved with organ and tissue donation. It is only after every attempt has been made to save your life that donation is considered. In fact, from a medical standpoint, patients must receive the most aggressive life-saving care in order to be potential donors.
Yes! Support is available for donor families. Call the agency that recovered your loved ones gifts.
If you have recorded your decision to be an organ and tissue donor and have not revoked that decision, then your relatives cannot make the decision for you. In the absence of a recorded decision or if a person is under the age of 18 and is not an emancipated minor, the law provides a priority list of who is responsible for making the final donation decision. For minors not emancipated, the parent(s) or legal guardian make the final decision.
Prior to death, you need to have plans in place with a funeral home or research facilities if you do not want your remains returned to family members or an estate. Otherwise, it will fall into the order of priority by the state law §194.119 RSMo (http://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=194.119&bid=9947&hl).
No. Generally, donation does not delay funeral or memorial services. Donation does not prevent an open casket funeral. The person’s body is returned to the family.
Your Registry record serves as first-person consent. At or near the time of death, family members receive notice of your choice. They will receive information about what will occur after your passing. Recovery of organs and tissues is a surgical process and done with great care and respect. In case of sudden death, it will ease the family’s pain to know your choice.
No. At or near the time of death, family members receive notice of your choice. They also get information on what will occur. You are strongly encouraged to inform your family now so it will not be a surprise to them at a very difficult time.
Within the United States, living donations of a kidney can be made to a family member, friend, or anyone on the waiting list. Living donations are arranged through one of several transplant centers throughout the U.S. Before anyone can be considered as a donor, the individual must undergo a complete physical, as well as a psychosocial evaluation by the transplant center where they intend to make the donation. United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) is a good source of living donor information, and the National Kidney Foundation.
Yes. The use of medical marijuana will not affect an individual’s ability to be a potential donor. As with any potential donor, a full medical and social history is taken and a medical evaluation is conducted to determine organ viability on a case-by-case basis at or near the time of death. This assessment and the condition of your body at the time of death will determine if you can be a donor.
According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, only few conditions would absolutely prevent a person from becoming a donor – such as active cancer or a systemic infection.
No. A person’s health does not rule out donation. Even a person with cancer, hepatitis C, or diabetes can donate certain gifts. The type of cancer diagnosis and location of the cancer plays a role. A full medical review is made at the time of death by a medical team. Never count yourself out as a likely donor.
This donor is sometimes called a Good Samaritan donor. This is a person who donates their kidney to someone they do not know.
A person who is not kin to you, like a friend, spouse, or co-worker.
A person who is kin to the recipient, like a parent, brother, sister, or child.
Organ recovery takes place within 18 to 24 hours of death. Organs need to be removed from the body by the doctor. Once a person is declared brain dead, the person is kept on a breathing machine to keep the oxygen and blood moving to the vital organs. The person is moved to surgery to recover the organs. Organs are then stored on ice and taken to the hospital where the person is waiting to receive the gift.
Surgery that takes the bad tissue covering the eye and replaces it with healthy tissue.
It is a condition where the clear tissue is clouded making a person unable to see. This can be caused by a disease, injury, or infection.
The cornea is the clear tissue covering the front of your eye. It is the part that helps you see.
Donated tissues may include bone, tendons, ligaments, heart valves, skin, veins, cartilage, corneas, etc. These tissues treat a wide range of problems. They can restore sight, movement, and heart action. They can speed healing and repair damaged skin, bone and muscle. They can also help prevent removal of limbs damaged by cancer, infection, or injury.
Cardiac death means the heart is no longer beating and circulation has stopped. Donation after cardiac death, or DCD, is only considered after a loved one has no hope of recovery and the family has decided to remove the ventilator. After the family decides to remove the ventilator, and the loved one is deemed to be a donor candidate, the family’s loved one is allowed to pass away peacefully with the assistance of all appropriate end-of-life comfort measures. If the family’s loved one passes away within a specified time frame, and death is pronounced by the attending physician (not a part of the transplant team), the patient is taken into surgery to recover organs and tissues.
Brain death results from a severe permanent injury to the brain. Like an injury from a gunshot wound to the head or a car crash. The brain no longer works and a person cannot breathe or sustain their life, but vital body functions may thrive in an intensive care unit for a short period of time. The person is kept on a breathing machine to keep the oxygen and blood moving to the vital organs. The person is moved to surgery to recover the organs. People who experience brain death can also donate tissue.
Emergency medical staff will honor the Out-of-Hospital DNR Order if on hand or found. You will need to choose what is the most vital to you. If both are important, know that the Out-of-Hospital DNR will be honored. You can still be a tissue donor. Family members can plan tissue donation with the coroner’s office or funeral home, so tell your family what you want so they can handle the state of affairs.
Yes. However, if you sign up in Missouri’s Registry, your record is first-person consent and will be shared with your proxy. It is best to talk about all end-of-life choices with your proxy. If you are not in the Registry, the holder of your health care power of attorney may make donation decisions on your behalf.
While it is not vital, it is suggested. The Registry is viewed in all likely donation cases. Due to the fast and emotional nature of events at time of death, families do not always have time to check legal papers. By being in the Registry, recovery staff are able to share proof that you want to be a donor with family members.
No. An advance health care directive, for the purpose of donation, is not required to be a donor.
An advance health care directive is a legal document that outlines your decisions concerning medical care at or near the time of your death. An advance health care directive can also be legal authority to grant consent for donation, provided you have outlined your decision to donate. Typically, an advance health care directive prohibits the use of intensive care interventions. However, if you plan to be a vital organ and tissue donor, the document must specify that intensive care interventions are only authorized for the purpose of organ and tissue donation.
No. Organ, eye and tissue recovery takes place only after all efforts to save your life have been exhausted and death legally declared. The doctors working to save your life are entirely separate from the medical team involved in recovering organs and tissues after death.