LifeLink says more than 90% of organ donors register at tax collectors’ offices
LifeLink of Florida, the organ and tissue recovery organization that is based in Tampa, is recognizing Sarasota County Tax Collector Barbara Ford-Coates and her staff for raising more than $19,000 in voluntary contributions to support donation education efforts that encourage people to join Florida’s organ, eye and tissue donor registry, LifeLink has announced.
The Sarasota County Tax Collector’s Office “raised the highest amount during the [most recent] friendly statewide competition and wants to remind individuals about the importance of registering to become a donor,” the release explains.
In the United States, as of last week, 105,000 men, women and children, including “roughly 5,300 Floridians,” were on the national transplant waiting list, in need of a lifesaving organ, the release adds.
One organ donor can save up to eight lives and can enhance up to 75 altogether through tissue donation, the release points out.
More than 90% of the people who register to become a donor do so when obtaining a driver’s license at a local tax collector’s office, the release notes.
When obtaining a driver’s license, the release explains, anyone, regardless of medical condition, can register the decision to donate an organ. Individuals also may register online through the Donate Life Florida registry, the release says.