Organ, Tissue, and Eye Donation Registry: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

The Wisconsin Organ and Tissue Donor Registry is a confidential and secure database of Wisconsinites who have selected yes to organ, tissue, and eye donation.

The decision to register functions as “first person authorization” — meaning that if you say yes to donation, it is a legally binding decision, and family members cannot override that decision at the time of death unless the potential donor is a minor. If the potential donor is younger than 18, then the parent or legal guardian makes the final donation decision.

Authorized professionals can access the registry and those decisions at the time of death.

Registration legally authorizes the gift of your organs, tissues, and eyes upon your death. This provides legal consent for your donation.

Your gift will be used to help others through transplantation, therapy, research, or education.

You can check your donor status (registered or not registered) anytime by visiting the Wisconsin Donor Registry and entering your last name and Driver’s License number. Then click “Check My Status”. The system will tell you your donor status (if you are registered or not registered).

You can register if you are at least 15 years old and have a Wisconsin driver's license or State Identification (ID) card. For those who are 18 or older, registering provides legal consent to donate. For those who are 15–17, registering indicates intent to donate, but until they are 18 years old, a parent or legal guardian makes the final donation decision.

You can register to be an organ, tissue, and eye donor by visiting the Wisconsin Donor Registry and entering your last name and driver's license or State ID number. Then select the green "Register as a donor" button. Once you submit an add request, your request will be processed within one to two business days. Please enter an email address on the form to receive confirmation of your registration. Your donor registration is a legally binding and authorizes legal consent for donation at the time of death.

You can also register as an organ, tissue and eye donor:

• At your local Wisconsin DMV, by checking the "yes" box when you get a new, or renew, your driver's license or State ID card.
• When applying for a hunting, fishing, and/or trapping license through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
• When you file your Wisconsin income tax form.

To further ensure that your wishes are honored, make sure your wishes are documented through a living will, healthcare power of attorney and through your family.

Age

Anyone of any age can be considered for organ, tissue, and eye donation.

• If you're over the age of 15 and have a Wisconsin driver's license or State ID, you can register your decision.
• For those between 15–17, the final donation decision will be made by a parent or legal guardian.
• For those who are 18 and older, registering as an organ, tissue, and eye donor provides legal consent for donation.

Health

Health conditions do not prevent you from registering and anyone can be a potential donor. A complete medical and social history will be taken together with a number of lab tests to determine if donation is possible. Your medical history at the time of death will determine what organs and tissues can be donated.

Medical criteria for organ, tissue, and eye donation changes as medical advances occur, and a physician will complete a full medical workup to determine donation eligibility.

If you checked “Yes” to registering at the DMV when applying for or renewing your Wisconsin driver’s license or state ID and already have the orange “DONOR” sticker on your license, then you are already registered and you do not need to register online.

When you register as an organ, tissue, and eye donor, you authorize donation for your organs, tissues, and eyes for transplant, research, education and therapy. You may limit, restrict, or direct your donation through an advanced directive (or will), a statement in a power of attorney for health care, or the statement on the back of your driver's license or state ID. You cannot limit your donation through the comment section when registering online.

You can remove yourself from the Wisconsin Donor Registry at any time by visiting the Wisconsin Donor Registry. You will be asked to enter your last name and Driver's License or State ID number and then you can select the "Remove my name" button.

Once you submit a removal request, your request will be processed within one to two business days. Please enter an email address on the form to receive confirmation of your registration. You will only be contacted via email to confirm your request was completed.

To further ensure that your wishes are honored, make sure your wishes are documented through a living will, healthcare power of attorney and through your family.

Please note that there is a National Registry. Removing yourself from the Wisconsin Donor Registry does not automatically remove you from the National Registry. If you want to remove yourself from the National Registry, then visit Donate Life America's Removing Yourself From a Donor Registry.

If you have removed yourself from the Wisconsin Donor Registry, but your license still says "DONOR", you do not need to obtain a new license. The Wisconsin Donor Registry is used to determine your donor status at the time of death. If you are not on the donor registry in Wisconsin, then you are not a registered donor in Wisconsin, even if your license has the "DONOR" sticker. You can further indicate your wish to not be a donor on the back of your license, your living will, or your power of attorney. You do not need to visit the DMV and get a new license unless you would like to.

Please note that there is a National Registry. Removing yourself from the Wisconsin Donor Registry does not automatically remove you from the National Registry. If you want to remove yourself from the National Registry, then visit Donate Life America's Removing Yourself From a Donor Registry.

A secure, centralized database that allows U.S. residents to document their decision to be an organ, tissue, and eye donor. You do not need to register on both the Wisconsin Donor Registry and the National Registry to be a registered donor. Medical professionals will check both the state and national registries at the time of death.

If you have previously registered with the National Donate Life Registry, you can view or update your registration by visiting the National Donate Life Registry.

You may have previously registered with the National Donate Life Registry through your MyChart or Apple App registration portal.

You can add or remove yourself from the national donate life registry anytime by visiting Donate Life America's Removing Yourself From a Donor Registry.

No, you not need your license at the time of death to indicate that you are a donor. At the time of death, if you die in a manner that is suitable for donation, then donation professionals will search the Wisconsin Donor Registry to determine your donor registry status.

Your life always comes first, doctors will always work hard to save your life first. Once you are declared clinically and legally dead, only then is donation an option.

It is important to know that the hospital care team does not know your donor status. The hospital contacts the local organ procurement organization (OPO) once you are declared clinically and legally dead. A representative from the OPO checks the donor registry and then evaluates the your medical history to determine donation eligibility. If you are registered, then the representative from the OPO will inform and support your family. If not, then your next of kin or legally authorized representative will be asked if they would like to authorize donation.

For all organ, eye and tissue donation, the donor is treated with care and respect, and the donor's family is supported throughout the entire donation process.

Following donation, funeral arrangements may continue as planned. Donation does not prevent an open casket funeral or delay funeral plans.

Your decision to register as an organ, tissue, and eye donor could save someone's life. Over 100,000 people in the United States are waiting for organ transplants, including more than 1,400 people from Wisconsin. Unfortunately, many are never matched with a donor in time. An average of 13 people die each day waiting for a transplant.

Additionally, tissue donations are used to treat patients who've experienced burns or serious abrasions, or those who need reconstructive surgeries. Donor tendons are used to repair torn ligaments, veins are used in surgeries, and bone is used to help heal fractures or to prevent amputation. Donor corneas can restore sight to people who are blind.

One person can save or enhance dozens of lives through the gift of donation. Without documentation of a loved one's wishes, family members may be unsure of organ donation preferences. By registering, your decision to donate is stored in a secure, confidential database. An official record of your donor status will be readily available for your family or legal guardian. Thus, should you be medically suitable to donate, your wishes will be respected, and your family will be relieved of the burden of making a decision on your behalf.