In an attempt to provide relief to the 18,000 Californians waiting for organ transplants, state officials on Monday announced the creation of an organ and tissue donor registry, the first comprehensive list of willing donors.

Previously, Californians could indicate their desire to donate organs and tissue by signing a card or placing a pink sticker on their driver's license, but if that preference wasn't specified in a will, it often went unheeded. Thirty-six other states have registries, all created in the last decade.

Californians account for about 20 percent of people in need of organ donations nationwide, according to the registry, though the state only makes up 10 percent of the total population. On average, kidney recipients wait six years for an organ in the state. A single donor, by contrast, can provide organs for eight people and tissue for up to 50.

The state's four organ procurement organizations founded and funded the database, which they hope will especially assist minorities, who are disproportionately affected.

On Monday, Reg Green spoke about losing his 7-year-old son in 1994, when robbers mistakenly shot at the family's car during a vacation in Italy. The family founded the Nicholas Green Foundation in memory of their son, and in the last 11 years have become champions of organ donations.

"Two days [after he was shot], Nicholas was declared brain dead. My wife said, 'Now that he's gone, should we donate his organs?' And I said, 'Yes," Green explained. "It was so clear to us that he didn't need that body anymore. In all the miles I've traveled, I can scarcely remember any donor family that regrets what they did. Rather, most remember it as the only good thing that came out of a terrible time."

Nicholas' organs went to seven Italian recipients, who are all living healthy lives today, Green said. He added that the need for clear direction was apparent by the national attention fixed on Terry Schiavo, a brain-dead Florida woman who died last week after her parents took her husband to court over his wish to remove her feeding tube.

The confidential database was created by legislation authored by state Sen. Jackie Speier in 2001 and is available in Spanish and English. Speier is now sponsoring a bill that would allow the Department of Motor Vehicles to partner on the Web site.

To sign up or for more information, call (888) 570-9400 or visit www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org or www.doneVIDAcalifornia.org.

Email: mlagos@examiner.com

Reference: Lagos, M. (2005). California launches donor registry: Activists laud program making matches easier. The Examiner (Monday, April 4, 2005). Retrieved on 04/05/04 from http://story.californiatelegraph.com/p.x/ct/9/cid/805170b4ac37e387/id/749f1cc3b2f2beec