DMV urging New Yorkers to register as potential organ donors

ALBANY―April is Donate Life Month, and the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is urging New Yorkers who have not already done so to register as potential organ donors.

In 2024, more than 50 percent of eligible New Yorkers had registered to become organ and tissue donors through New York’s Donate Life Registry. It was the first time a majority had registered. That number is now 52.9 percent.

“Still, it is a sad fact that almost 300 New Yorkers died last year while waiting for a transplant. There are 785 people that have been waiting more than five years. That should motivate all of us to join the registry,” said DMV Commissioner Mark J.F. Schroeder.

There are now 8,018 New Yorkers awaiting an organ transplant, according to Donate Life New York State. New Yorkers make up 10% of the national organ transplant waiting list, according to the NYS Department of Health.

One organ donor can save eight lives and heal 75 more through eye and tissue donation.

If you are aged 16 and older, you are eligible to enroll in the registry. Donors can specify organs and tissues they want to give, and they can identify whether the donation is for transplant, research or both.

New Yorkers can enroll directly through the NYS Donate Life Registry at https://donatelife.ny.gov/register or at a local Department of Motor Vehicles by completing the donation section on a driver’s license or non-driver ID application or when they renew their license or non-driver ID.