Join the registry

"My son needed a miracle...my son needed a hero! I will be forever grateful to his donor and their family for the gift they’ve given Josh."
Faly Colaizzi, mother of a cornea transplant recipient

Frequently asked questions about donation

People of all ages should consider themselves potential eye, organ and tissue donors. Your medical condition at the time of death will determine what can be donated. If corneal tissue is not transplantable due to age or medical condition, the donation can, with authorization, be considered a gift for education and research involving glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration and other sight disorders. These studies advance the knowledge of causes and effects of blinding eye conditions and lead to new treatments and cures.

The United States has an “opt-in” approach to organ, eye and tissue donation, which means residents must register to be an organ donor. If you are on the organ donor registry it is because you registered to be an organ donor, likely when you received or renewed your driver’s license or state ID card at your state's department of motor vehicles or Secretary of State. You may also have signed up on the National Donate Life Donor Registry, instead of or in addition to your state's registry. The national registry will not provide an indicator on your driver’s license but it is checked in all 50 states when there is a potential donor situation.

You can register in both, if you desire to do so. If you are registered in your state donor registry, you can still register your donation decision in the National Donate Life Registry at RegisterMe.org or in your iPhone Health App. It takes less than a minute and does not conflict with the state donor registry. Your national registration will travel with you across state lines. Your state donor registry and the National Donate Life Registry will be checked online by donation professionals at the time of your death. The most recent donor registration is honored as your legal document of gift.

Registering as a whole-body donor is a separate process. It can be done through organizations such as Science Care or Humanity Gifts Registry, or sometimes directly with the departments of anatomy for medical institutions in your area. Through whole-body registration, you'll be able to indicate that you're also an organ donor and therefore your organs will be considered for transplants before being assessed for whole-body donation.

If you've never considered organ, eye and tissue donation or delayed becoming a donor because of possibly inaccurate information, we encourage you to check out these answers to some common organ donation inaccuracies as well as this resource that helps separate myths from facts.

Becoming an organ, eye and tissue donor is one of the most important decisions you will make in your life. Signing up only takes a few minutes and can be done by visiting organdonor.gov (to find your state’s donor registry) and/or the National Donate Life Registry.

To learn more about the impact of donation, we invite you to read about the people who inspire, give and work with Eversight to advance our mission.

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Register to be an Eye, Organ and Tissue Donor

"My son needed a miracle...my son needed a hero! I will be forever grateful to his donor and their family for the gift they’ve given Josh."

Frequently asked questions about donation

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Our Focus

Who We Are

News & Stories

Get Involved

Donors & Recipients

Research & Development

Surgeons

Register to be an Eye, Organ and Tissue Donor

"My son needed a miracle...my son needed a hero! I will be forever grateful to his donor and their family for the gift they’ve given Josh."

Frequently asked questions about donation

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