Anyone can save lives through organ donation.

For many people, organ donation is a scary idea. Unfortunately, it is also a necessity for some people to survive.

Organ donation is a serious, complex subject, but by learning what it involves and how the life-saving process is carried out, you can make an informed decision about whether or not you choose to participate.

So how do you become an organ donor?

The process is quite easy.

In West Virginia, simply check the box on the application when applying for or renewing your driver's license. If you choose to be an organ donor, a symbol denoting that will be printed on your license.

If you do not have a license and want to be an organ donor, you can obtain a donor card and carry that. You can get a free card mailed to you by visiting OrganDonor.gov.

Also, if you are under the age of 18, you can still become a donor. However, you must have the consent of your parent or legal guardian, who must sign as a witness on your application form or donor card.

If you choose to be an organ donor, you need to discuss your decision with your family. This is especially important because at the time of death, your next of kin will be asked to sign a consent form for donation.

Just designating your decision to be an organ donor on your license does not ensure that your wish will be carried out. If you have not discussed this with your family, they may be unwilling to sign the consent form.

Unfortunately, some families refuse to sign the form anyway. It is estimated that about 35 percent of potential donors never actually become donors because family members refuse to give consent.

One thing to keep in mind when making a decision about organ donation is that your choice to donate your organs after your death is not set in stone. It is possible to change your mind. All you have to do is have your driver's license changed and inform your family of your new decision.

Also, if you wish, you can specify the organs and/or tissues that you wish to donate. To limit what you choose to donate, simply write on the registration form which tissues/organs you wish to donate.

You can specify who you want to receive your organs, too. As long as the person meets the medical criteria, you can donate to him or her. You cannot, however, ask to leave organs only to people of a specific race, religion or other qualifying factor.

Donated organs rarely go wasted. This is because those that are donated are matched with transplant recipients before they are removed from the donor's body. Extensive tests are performed before surgery in order to determine which organs can be recovered.

What many potential donors don't realize is that organ donation doesn't just help save the lives of others. If you donate your organs and they cannot be used for a transplant, they will be used for medical research. (Consent forms signed by your family are also required for this.)

Who knows? If your organs or tissues don't go to a person, they might go towards helping to find a cure for cancer or diabetes.

Also, organ donation costs you and your family nothing. It does not interfere with having an open-casket funeral for the deceased either because all surgical incisions are closed after the organs have been removed.

Advances in surgical techniques and also organ preservation, along with the development of more effective drugs to prevent rejection, have improved the success rates of all types of organ and tissue transplants. So there is a very high probability that if you choose to donate your organs, they will go towards helping someone else get another chance at life. 

Organ donation facts

* An average of 21,093 organ transplants are performed in the United States every year. More than 2,200 have already been performed this year.

* There are nearly 100,000 individuals currently on a transplant waiting list.

* Each day, about 77 people receive lifesaving organs from organ donors.

* An average of 19 people die every day from not having a transplant due to the shortage of donated organs.

* Each organ and tissue donor saves or improves the lives of as many as 50 people.

* Organ donation includes kidneys, heart, liver, pancreas, intestines and lungs. Tissue donation includes corneas, skin, heart valves, bone, veins, cartilage, tendons and ligaments. Bone marrow and stem cells can also be donated.

* An estimated 10,000 to 14,000 people who die each year meet the criteria for organ donation, but less than half become actual organ donors.

-- From OrganDonor.gov