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| Ohio license plates remind people of all kinds of causes - saving the lakes, saving the wildlife - but now
there is one that can help to save lives. |
| To kick-off Donate Life Ohio Month, the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles and Donate Life Ohio, which is comprised of the state's organ, tissue and eye recovery agencies, announced a Donate Life specialty license plate that is now available. The goal of the new plate, as a moving message, is to remind Ohioans to save
lives by becoming a registered organ and tissue donor. |
| The unveiling launches the beginning of a statewide campaign to increase the number of registered organ donors in Ohio by 800,000 people in the next 12 months. The campaign is a charge from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Donate Life America, as part of the Donor Designation Collaborative, to increase registrations nationwide to 100 million Americans. |
| "There is an urgent need for more registered organ and tissue donors in Ohio," said Chuck Heald,
spokesperson for Donate Life Ohio and manager of public affairs for LifeBanc, the organ and
tissue recovery agency serving Northeast Ohio. Nearly 90 percent of all Americans support organ
donation, yet only 50 percent of Ohio's licensed drivers are registered donors. Ohioans can make a commitment to become an organ, tissue and/or eye donor at the times of their death through The Ohio Donor Registry. |
| The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles has a critical role in the number of people joining the Ohio Donor
Registry. More than 90 percent of Ohioans join the registry at their local agencies when renewing
or receiving a new driver license.
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| All of the more than 50 specialty Ohio license plates have an additional cost. The Donate Life plate has a $15 fee; five dollars of which will go directly to the Ohio Department of Health's Second
Chance Trust Fund to educate Ohioans about organ and tissue donation. The plates are available
through all of the state's Bureau of Motor Vehicle agencies and online at www.oplates.com. |