Texas Organ Donation Law: Can Family Override Your Decision?

Are you a giving person and consider yourself someone with a big heart?

Perhaps you want to help with the gift of life by becoming an organ donor. According to Donate Life America, more than 5,600 people in the U.S. die annually while waiting for an organ transplant.

Interested in how you can help save a life? Can you still donate after death? Here's what to know about becoming an organ donor:

Who can be an organ donor?

According to the Health Resources & Services Administration, anyone, regardless of age or medical history, can be a potential organ and tissue donor. The specific organs and tissues eligible for donation are determined by your medical condition at the time of death.

A national system is used to match donated organs with recipients on the transplant waiting list. Matches are based on factors such as blood type, body size, severity of illness, proximity to the donor, tissue type, and time spent on the waiting list. Non-medical factors like sexual orientation, race, income, social status or fame are never considered.

What organs can you donate?

According to the HRSA, some organs are eligible for donation while you're alive, and some after death. One organ donor can save up to eight lives, and one tissue donor can help more than 75 people.

What organs can I donate while I’m alive?

• One kidney
• One lung
• A part of the liver
• A part of the pancreas
• A part of the intestine

What organs can be donated after death?

• Kidneys (2)
• Liver
• Lungs (2)
• Heart
• Pancreas
• Intestines
• Hands and Face

Is donor registration legally binding in Texas?

Yes. According to the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, an individual's decision to register as an organ donor is legally binding.

The UAGA is a U.S. law that provides a legal framework for organ, eye, and tissue donation. It was originally drafted in 1968 by the Uniform Law Commission to ensure consistency across states, and has since been revised in 1987 and 2006. All 50 states, D.C., and several U.S. territories have adopted some version of it.

The law says the following:

• Family members, or next of kin, cannot override that decision once it is made.
• The system prioritizes individual autonomy and respect for end-of-life choices.

How to remove organ donor status from your Texas license

There are two ways to remove your name from the donor registration, depending on how you registered.

If you registered with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, you can do the following:

• Visit the Donate Life Texas website and log in to your donor profile using your name, ZIP code, and date of birth. From there, you can select the option to “Withdraw from DLT” and confirm your decision to remove yourself from the registry.
• If you have trouble logging in or completing the withdrawal online, you can call Donate Life Texas or the Glenda Dawson Donate Life Texas Registry at 1‑800‑633‑6562 for assistance.
• To ensure your status has been updated, log back into your profile after a few days to confirm you are no longer listed as a donor. If the registry system doesn’t update immediately, you may also receive email confirmation.
• While removing your name from the registry means your wishes replace any previous decision, the heart symbol on your current license may still appear until you get a new license without it.
• If you’d prefer to have the symbol removed right away, you can request a duplicate license (or wait until your next renewal) and check the “No” option for donor status during the application. Some DMV offices will ask you to write “REMOVE” in the donor box.

If you registered through the National Donate Life Registry, you can do the following:

• Go to Registerme.org
• Click on “Access your registration” (located near the top of the page)
• Complete the form fields
• Click “Sign In”
• If you are registered in the National Donate Life Registry, your donor registration record will open and you will see options to edit or remove your donor registration record.