Organizational Initiatives:

• Increase donor designation
• Increase living donation
• Expand education and outreach
• Ensure long-term stability
• Advance diversity, equity & inclusion throughout all aspects of our work

History:

In 1975, responding to medical advances in transplantation, health care professionals formed Oregon Donor Program (Donate Life Northwest) by bringing the organ, eye, and tissue procurement agencies together.  The philosophy of the organization was to work together in a collaborative manner to increase the donor pool.  For more than 40 years, Donate Life Northwest has been successful in advocating for improved donation laws, developing and implementing educational programs, and conducting motivational campaigns to enlist the help of civic organizations, faith groups, businesses, and the general public to register as organ, eye, and tissue donors.

Major Accomplishments:

• Successfully legislated the “D” code on driver’s licenses (1975)
• First state to adopt routine inquiry (1985)
• Established a toll-free number for all organ, eye, and tissue donation referrals (1985)
• Became an affiliate of Donate Life America (DLA)
• Established Oregon’s state-wide donor registry (2007)
• Changed organizational name (2007)
• Successfully enlisted recovery agencies to recognize the driver’s license as first-person consent (2008)
• Developed and distributed a comprehensive educational curriculum on organ, eye, and tissue donation via the Go Recycle Yourself campaign (2014)
• Won the DLA Pinnacle Award for the Go Recycle Yourself curriculum (2015)
• Launched Erase the Wait mentorship program for kidney patients (2016)
• Celebrated the first National DMV Appreciation Week (2016)