ABA Family Legal Guide

Health-Care Law

Specific Issues in Health Care

Organ Donation

Why did the hospital ask me if I was an organ donor when I was admitted for a minor procedure?

Federal law requires hospitals that participate in Medicare to ask you, when admitted, whether you are an organ donor. If you say yes, the hospital is required to get a copy of your donor card, driver's license, or advance directive indicating that you wish to donate your organs. If you say no, the hospital is required to tell you about your options for deciding whether to become an organ donor.

If you are near death and the hospital has no record of your decision to be an organ donor, the hospital is required to ask your next of kin to donate your organs. The purpose of these laws is to find out and document your wishes, as well as increase the number of organs available for transplantation. Your doctor will make every effort to save your life even if you are an organ donor.