Become an Organ Donor

Organ Donation

When you register to donate an organ or tissues, you provide other people opportunities for life and improved health.

Your decision to be an organ donor should be an informed one. Learn more about living and postmortem organ and tissue donation from New England Donor Services.

Be sure to talk with your family about your decision to be an organ and tissue donor.

When you come to the hospital for a procedure or inpatient stay, please tell your care team if you are an organ donor.

Who Can Be an Organ or Tissue Donor?

Adults 18 or older can register as organ and tissue donors, without regard to their medical history.

One person who is an organ and tissue donor can help save and heal the lives of up to eight people through organ donation, and up to 75 people with tissue donation.

The priority of BID Milton care teams is to save lives. We do not consider or discuss eye, organ or tissue donation until after death.

When someone is an organ or tissue donor, their body is treated with care and respect throughout the donation process. An open casket funeral is possible after organ donation.

How to Register

If you want more information about being an organ and tissue donor, talk with a BID Milton patient advocate at 617-696-4600, ext. 1360. Or you can speak with someone in our Quality Management department at 617-696-4600, ext. 1830.

You and your family also can call New England Donor Services at (800) 446-6362 for more details.

To register as an organ and tissue donor, sign up through the National Donate Life Registry.

Donor registries are a quick way to register your consent for organ and tissue donation. They provide an electronic record of your decision that can be accessed 24/7. Here are other benefits:

• Signing up in the National Donate Life Registry ensures your donor registration travels with you, no matter where you live or move across the country.
• If you register online through the National Donate Life Registry, you can change your registration status at any time.
• Log in to RegisterMe.org to update your donor profile, specify any donation restrictions or remove your registration.
• Many donors also register through their state motor vehicle office when getting a driver’s license.

Donor cards are no longer necessary. Under federal regulations, all hospital deaths are reported to the local organ procurement unit. This makes it possible for the National Donate Life registry — and state motor vehicle registries — to be checked every time a death is reported.