LYNN — The city hosted New England Donor Services to raise awareness of the benefits of registering as an organ donor Tuesday.
During a flag-raising at City Hall, Mayor Jared Nicholson proclaimed Aug. 27 as World Organ Donation Day in the city and encouraged all who are eligible to register as organ donors.
In his proclamation, he acknowledged the impact of community health centers on the nation and the city, and stressed how organ donors save lives.
“We can all help save up to eight people’s lives and benefit up to 15 recipients by signing up to become an organ and tissue donor by enrolling in the Massachusetts Donor Registry when we apply for or renew our driver’s license, ID, or Real ID,” Nicholson said.
Matthew Boger, the director of government relations for New England Donor Services, said the idea of registering as an organ donor is not necessarily about donating an organ, but about providing hope to those in need.
He said in Massachusetts, there are more than 4,000 people waiting for an organ transplant, and more than 106,000 people waiting for one in the United States as a whole.
“We’re here to acknowledge the legacy of the donors and we’re here to encourage people to get the heart on your license,” Boger said.
Boger referred to the stigma surrounding organ-donor registration that causes people to worry their organs will be harvested before they have actually died, saying that it is a “very rare occurrence.
“Someone else passing away can save someone’s life,” he said.
Boger particularly expressed gratitude for a billboard on Route 60 sponsored by the Registry of Motor Vehicles and Massachusetts Department of Health that reads, “Be a hero. Be an organ donor.”
Jim Rodrigue, the director of data and insights for New England Donor Services, said the Greater Lynn region has a donor-designation rate — the rate at which people opt to register as an organ donor when they register for a Real ID or driver’s license — of 35%, which is 10% less than the state average.
He added that within the area, adults older than 55 years old are registering at a higher rate than adults between the ages of 30 and 55 and adults younger than 30.
Rodrigue said this is a recent trend in the Greater Lynn area and across Massachusetts, which may be attributed to people postponing getting their driver’s licenses.
“Ideally, across all of Massachusetts, we would have a donor designation rate of 50%,” he said.
Rodrigue said the state had a designation rate of 50% in 2021.
RMV Assistant Registrar of Service Center Operations Jay DiLisio said the goal is to make Massachusetts the highest-ranking state for donor-designation rates by the end of the year.
He said his brother-in-law died in March and because he was an organ donor, he was able to donate his cornea.
“It brings me great pride to say that I know someone somewhere is looking at the world through my brother-in-law’s eyes, and that can only happen when you’re an organ donor,” DiLisio said.
