Plymouth's State Rep. Sarah Anderson Helps Organ Donation Education

Donating can save a life.

But many people may not be well educated on it.

That's why a new campaign "You and $2" has been created to support public education and donation.

Sarah Anderson (R-Plymouth) co-authored a bill allowing Minnesotans to contribute $2 to support organ, tissue and eye donation education when they apply for or renew their driver’s license or state ID card.

The bill received unanimous, bi-partisan support and the new law went into effect Jan. 1.

The nonprofit organization LifeSource, which is dedicated to saving lives through organ and tissue donation in the Upper Midwest, partnered with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety to unveil the new law and its campaign at a press conference Jan. 5 in St. Paul.

Minnesotans applying for or renewing their driver’s licenses or state ID cards have long had the opportunity to check a box to designate themselves organ, tissue and eye donors.

Now, the “You and $2” program allows Minnesotans to use the same form to contribute $2 to education about organ, tissue and eye donation. Money raised will be used to fund programs that educate the public on the need for life-saving organ donations with the goal of increasing the number of registered donors in the state. "You and $2" is modeled after similar programs in other states.

The percentage of persons who are registered donors in Minnesota continues to rise, yet growth has significantly slowed – a critical concern, as the need for organ donors is rising and expected to increase. More than 2.4 million Minnesotans are registered organ and tissue donors, equaling about 60 percent of adults in the state. Although Minnesota ranks higher than the national average (42 percent of adults registered as donors) states with programs similar to “You and $2” boast much higher rates of registered donors, including Washington, which has 74 percent.

Statewide, more than 2,700 people are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant. In 2010, 167 people died while on the transplant list because an organ was not available — nearly one person every other day.

“Our hope is that providing this opportunity to fund critical education will increase our community’s support for donation and save more lives,” said LifeSource Chief Executive Officer Susan Gunderson. “Our vision is that everyone shares the gift of life and that no one should die because of a shortage of organs available for transplant.”

Department of Public Safety Commissioner Mona Dohman supports the joint efforts of DPS and LifeSource to help Minnesotans register as donors and verify the decisions of Minnesotans who choose to save lives through organ and tissue donation.

“We are proud to strengthen our partnership with LifeSource through the ‘You and $2’ campaign to help Minnesotans save lives,” Dohman said.