Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security and Donate Life Tennessee Announce "Show Us Your Heart!" Month

Nashville ---The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security will partner with Donate Life Tennessee to designate February as Show Us Your Heart! month.  Over the course of the month, select driver service centers will distribute chocolate hearts to customers who check “Yes” to join the state’s organ and tissue donor registry.

“We are pleased to join Donate Life Tennessee in the Show Us Your Heart! campaign,” Michael Hogan, Director of Driver Services said.  “As thousands of Tennesseans wait for a lifesaving transplant, we hope people will take notice and take action to sign up to be an organ, eye and tissue donor.”

Currently only 35 percent of Tennessee’s licensed drivers have said “Yes” to organ and tissue donation, and documented their decision on the Tennessee Donor Registry.  Donate Life America and each state is striving for a national average of 50 percent of licensed drivers to be listed on state organ and tissue registries.

“Our ongoing partnership with the Department of Safety and Homeland Security is a key in saving more lives through transplantation,” Lisa Clark, the department’s liaison with Donate Life Tennessee said.  “The driver license process is the easiest and best opportunity for residents to legally document their decision to be a donor on the Tennessee Donor Registry.” 

Over 117,000 people are currently on the national waiting list for a lifesaving transplant.  Of that figure, more than 2,500 live in Tennessee.  In an effort to educate the public and call attention to the great need for donors, Donate Life Tennessee representatives and volunteers will be located in various driver license service centers throughout the state during February providing information to customers.  

Tennesseans can register to be an organ donor by simply Checking Yes when applying for or renewing their driver’s license or state identification card.  A red heart is placed on the driver license and ID, signifying them as an organ donor.  For more information on organ and tissue donation visit www.DonateLifeTn.org or call toll free 1-877-552-5050.

Donate Life Tennessee is a non-profit, state-authorized organ and tissue donor registry, administered by the state’s two organ procurement organizations (OPO), responsible for facilitating the donation process in Tennessee:  Tennessee Donor Services and Mid-South Transplant Foundation. 

The Donate Life Registry assures that all personal information is kept confidential and stored in a secure database, accessible only to authorized OPO personnel.

For more information, please contact Lisa Clark at 865-250-1950 or lclark@dcids.org

The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security’s (www.TN.Gov/safety) mission is to ensure that our state is a safe, secure place in which to live, work and travel; enforce the law with integrity; and provide customer-focused services professionally and efficiently. The department encompasses the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Office of Homeland Security and Driver License Services.

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