Yes, We Can Make It Easier to Become an Organ Donor | OPINION

Every day in America, 13 people die They include children, parents, neighbors, and friends — ordinary individuals facing extraordinary circumstances. Yet, each one of us has the ability to make an exceptional difference: by signing up to become organ, eye, and tissue donors, we can offer them vital assistance.

Surveys consistently show that 90% of Americans Support organ donation. However, barely over 50% of Americans are signed up as donors. This low rate frequently stems from straightforward causes: individuals may overlook doing so, they aren’t prompted to do it, they assume registration must coincide with their next trip to the DMV, or they simply lack knowledge about how to sign up.

The action is straightforward: a single choice, a mere click, constitutes an immense gesture of kindness. This chance is more accessible today—integrated into the online platforms we frequently utilize for healthcare management: patient portals.

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Patient portals — where we all view our test results, book appointments, and communicate with our physicians — have seamlessly become a fixture The potential of modern healthcare extends far beyond mere convenience. These innovations are beginning to serve as significant assets for both patients and the broader welfare of society.

Donate Life America is collaborating with the global healthcare software firm Epic to offer a reliable way for you to register your potentially life-saving choice. MyChart MyChart functions as the patient portal for 180 million individuals across the United States. With the integration of organ donation registry within these portals, both Epic and collaborating healthcare systems aim to simplify the process, enabling more people to transform their kindness into concrete actions.

Currently, whenever patients sign in to check a lab result or communicate with their physician, they may encounter a query: Do you want to sign up as an organ, eye, and tissue donor? This presents an opportunity for individuals to create a significant, potentially life-saving decision as they are already contemplating matters related to their well-being, existence, and principles.

It's significant because when someone registers their choice for donations, it provides solace and certainty to those left behind during their grief, eliminating the need for them to wonder about the deceased’s wishes. This act of consideration resonates widely beyond just the individual involved.

Donating organs is an act of compassion; it is a silent, selfless gesture that has the potential to save lives. up to eight lives And heals many more. It surpasses politics, religion, race, and age. It represents one of the most empathetic decisions an individual can make.

We usually view change as grand, dramatic, and challenging. However, occasionally, transformation starts with something minor—a log-in, a query, an affirmative response, and a simple click.

Should your healthcare provider offer the option to consent to donations via your MyChart patient portal, seize this chance. If they haven't implemented such a feature yet, urge them to add it. Together, we have the ability and responsibility to construct this beacon of hope within our medical systems.

Somewhere out there, someone is waiting. And you might just be the reason they keep going.

David Fleming serves as both the President and CEO of Donate Life America (DLA), a 501(c)3 non-profit entity dedicated to educating, motivating, and engaging individuals to commit to becoming organ, eye, and tissue donors by signing up. For additional information, visit DonateLife.net/MyChart.

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The article initially appeared on USA TODAY: We have the ability and responsibility to simplify the process of becoming an organ donor for all individuals | OPINION

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