Organ & Tissue Donation
Your Questions Answered
Organ and tissue donation gives the gift of life to others by allowing your organs, eyes, or tissues to help patients in need after death. With a simple registration, you can make your wishes legally known and ensure that professionals handle the process safely and respectfully. Most donations are free to the family, and every registration has the potential to save or improve many lives.
Who Can Donate?
Not everyone will qualify for organ or tissue donation.
Eligibility depends on your medical condition at the time of death, not your age.
Experts recommend registering your decision in advance and letting professionals determine what can be used when the time comes.
How Organ Donation Works
True organ donation happens only in rare cases — usually when someone dies in a hospital and can be placed on life support to preserve organs.
- A separate transplant organization (not your doctor) determines whether donation is possible and matches recipients.
- If you’re a registered donor, your wishes override your family’s.
- If you’re not registered, your family will be contacted for consent if donation is possible.
Costs and Procedures
If a person dies outside a hospital, the coroner automatically alerts tissue donation organizations, which then check if the deceased was registered and contact the family.
- Organ donation: major surgery performed in a hospital — no cost to the donor’s family or estate.
- Tissue and eye donation: minor surgical procedure that can be done at hospitals, coroners’ offices, or funeral homes — also free.
- The only costs to families are normal medical expenses before death.
How to Register as a Donor
- National Donate Life Registry
- Register online at RegisterMe.org or through the Health app on iPhone.
- Your registration is a binding, legal document that you can update or revoke anytime.
- State Registries
- Visit the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for links to each state’s registry.
- You can also register when you get or renew your driver’s license.
Learn More
United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) – Nonprofit that operates the U.S. transplant system under federal contract; includes information on the transplant process, eligibility, and national statistics.