Libby Wolfe is the Project Manager at The Living Legacy Foundation of Maryland. Her main role is to act as a liaison and maintain a relationship with the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. She often hears the same questions being asked while traveling between Maryland MVA branches and we thought it would be great to let her sound off on some of these questions. Libby will address a common question related to the Maryland donor registry in Ask Libby, a special feature on our blog, each month. Enjoy, and feel free to e-mail her your questions at lwolfe@thellf.org.
Dear Helen:
Often, we hear from customers who are interested in registering as an organ donor but think they cannot since they are already registered as a whole body donor. In answer to your question – yes – it is possible to register as both an organ donor and a whole body donor.
There are separate organizations that exist to facilitate whole body donation for use in the advancement of medical research and education. While The Living Legacy Foundation and Washington Regional Transplant Community do not facilitate whole body donation, we do work in conjunction with several organizations that facilitate this option. Many whole body donor programs recognize the importance of organ donation and allow life-saving organ transplantation to occur first. We applaud you for making your end of life decisions now and encourage you to share your wishes with your family.
Should you need more information, please check out the following links:
www.DonateLifeMaryland.org – Facilitates organ, eye and tissue donation
Programs that facilitate whole body donation:
www.anatomicgift.com
www.iiam.org
http://dhmh.maryland.gov/anatomy/SitePages/faqs.aspx
