Thursday, September 3, 2009

A life-saving gift is now but one mouse click away.

Registering to be an organ donor in Texas used to be a three-step drill – at least.

A new state law that simplifies the online process aims to catch Texas up with other states in the number of people on the donation registry.

Just think: Ohio has more than 10 times the registered organ donors as the 382,000 or so in Texas. That number puts Texas in a league with far less populous states, such as Alaska and Hawaii.

Texans should use the new law to change that. It's a life-and-death matter for 7,000 Texans on the organ waiting list. Spreading the word on the simplified process will help:

Go to www.donatelifetexas.org. Look for the red button on the left that says "Sign me up today."

The questions are simple: name, address, birth date, partial Social, driver's license, etc. Then comes the important click, "submit," and you're in. It's official.

Before the new law took effect Tuesday, registration entailed an automatically mailed card to the would-be donor, who would have to get two witness signatures and mail it back. The process resulted in fewer registrations, keeping Texas' overall rate among the lowest nationally.

Two minutes invested in the new procedure can translate into years of life for one or more seriously ill people.

It also can help your family if you approach death in a hospital. No one will have to bring up the matter with your loved ones and ask permission for transplanting organs at a shatteringly difficult time. Your permission will already be on record, permanently.

Low rates of registered donors make it harder for a state to meet demand for organs. In the first half of 2009, 28 percent of donated organs nationally came from registered donors; the rest came through family permission.

In contrast, only 2 percent of transplant organs in Texas came from registered donors, putting pressure on organ bank representatives to secure family permission in the vast majority of cases. About a quarter of families say no.

Among the dismal data on Texas are a few bright spots.

The state is among the leaders in recent gains in signups, owing in part to a streamlined, computerized process at some Department of Public Safety driver's license stations.

Further, Texas is near the top of all states in annual number of transplants. Last year, only California exceeded the 2,166 performed in Texas.

One other wrinkle in the new state law – sponsored in the House by Rep. Jodi Laubenberg, R-Parker – should help Texas organ donations even more. Workers at driver's license stations are now directed to use a specific, simply worded question when bringing up the matter at renewal time.

They will ask, "Would you like to register as an organ donor?"

Just say yes.