Soon, Kentuckians could save lives...just by getting their driver's licenses renewed.
Starting Jan. 23rd, a blue heart stamp with the words 'organ donor' can be printed on the front of Kentucky licenses.
"The registry's been around for quite some time...but it was not indicated on your license that you were on the registry," said Jenny Miller Jones, Director of Education for the Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates.
Supporters of the campaign for the organ donor license option said they hope it will encourage more Kentuckians to sign up--as of this writing, it's a mere 35%.
Miller Jones said 116,000 people nationwide are in need of organ transplants, and that more than 900 people in Kentucky are doing the same.
One such person is Braxton Upthegrove. His mom, Michelle Upthegrove, said he needs a kidney.
For her son's treatment, she said, "I do dialysis seven nights a week, 10 hours a night."
And for people like Upthegrove, the campaign could be a literal lifesaver.
"I feel like it's gonna reach more people, and the more people we reach, the better off my child's gonna be, and everybody else."
Kentucky residents can join the Kentucky Organ Donor Registry at their circuit court clerk's office or online at
www.donatelifeky.org.
