There are myriad changes and modifications involved in moving to a new home.
A change of address, a change in schools, a change in shopping habits. And you may need a new driver’s license to show where you’re now living.
While getting a new license, why not consider adding a pink dot to the back of it by becoming a registered organ donor. Doing so might just save someone’s life.
April is National Donate Life Month.
According to the website donatelife.net, it’s a time to encourage Americans to register as organ, eye and tissue donors and to honor those who already “saved lives through the gift of donation.”
My personal connection to organ donation stems from the sudden death of my husband, Paul, just over four years ago.
Paul was a registered organ donor and was able save four lives through the gifts of his heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys, as well as improve the lives of 68 others through bone, skin and tissue donation.
More than 95% of Californians who are registered as organ donors do so at the Department of Motor Vehicles. When you register through the DMV, your new license will come with a pink dot with the word “donor” on it.
About 114,000 people in the United States are on a waiting list to get an organ transplant — and there’s about 23,000 more Californians waiting for a life-giving gift. About one in three of these people will die waiting.
It occurs to me that there are several instances during a real estate transaction when you may need to prove your identity, which for most of us means showing our driver’s license, entering our driver’s license numbers or changing our address with a seemingly endless number of entities.
If even just for the month of April, if you find yourself making these kinds of changes, why not consider becoming a registered donor?
It’s easy to register – and does not require a trip to the DMV.
Go to donateLIFECalifornia.org to read about the process and get answers to your questions regarding donation. Or, you can go directly to register.donatelifecalifornia.org to complete your registration.
Thinking outside the box can result in huge change. Maybe connecting the paperwork and address changes triggered by leasing a new apartment or buying a new house to donor registration can help close the gap between those waiting for a life-giving organ and those who eventually receive them.
Leslie Sargent Eskildsen is an agent with RealtyOne Group West and a member of the California Association of Realtors’ board of directors. She can be reached at 949-678-3373 or [email protected].