SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

• Your medical care will not be affected by your decision to donate. When you go to the hospital for treatment, doctors focus on saving your life, not somebody else ’s.
• The organ donation process does not begin until death has been declared by a physician and confirmatory tests have been performed by the OPO. Brain death is the irreversible loss of function of the brain, including the brainstem. People DO NOT recover from death.
• All major religions support or permit donations, and most consider it the ultimate act of kindness and compassion.
• Donation costs you and your family nothing.
• Your funeral arrangements will not be affected by your decision to donate.
• People of all ages and medical histories can be potential donors. Medical professional will decide at the time of death whether or not one’s organs and tissues are suitable for transplantation. Don ’t rule yourself out.
• The organ allocation system is fair and equitable. Organs are placed based on blood and tissue match-ups, geographic proximity, medical urgency and time on the waiting list. It is a fair and equitable system. The only thing lacking is donors. That’s why it’ so important to sign up to give life on the Donate Life California Registry at:www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org .
• In California, when you sign up to be a donor with the Donate Life California Registry (through the DMV or online), you assure your wish to save lives will be honored. When someone adds their name to the state’s donor registry, they c r eate a legally bi n ding document, an advance directive for organ donation. This relieves the family of the burden of making the donation decision.
• Add your name to the Donate Life California Registry today through the Department of Motor Vehicles or online at: www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org to ensure your wish to save lives will be carried out.
• Your decision to say YES! Helps provide thousands of waiting transplant patients and their families a new chance at he a lthy, productive and normal lives.

MYTH: "If you are either wealthy or a celebrity, you will get a transplant sooner than others."

FACT: Wealth and celebrity status DO NOT give you priority. Organs are placed based on strict medical criteria. The allocation system is based on a national computerized system, run by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), out of Richmond, Virginia. UNOS is a national organization which matches donors with recipients. When a donor becomes available, the computer prioritizes who should be given an organ based on blood and tissue match-ups, geographic proximity, medical urgency and time on the waiting list. It is a fair and equitable system. The only thing lacking is donors. That's why it's so important to talk to your family about donating life.

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