Police Response to Organ Donors

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Police Response to Organ Donors

 

Gordon Graham
Category: Law Enforcement

Gordon Graham here with Today’s Tip from Lexipol. Today’s Tip is for Law Enforcement.

Be ready to help save a life by correctly handling the organ donor when the time comes.

Do you notice anything unusual about this California Driver’s License? I mean other than the fact that the photo is of someone much more handsome than me. How about this little red dot at the bottom. Do you know what that means? Do you know what you need to do if you find a deceased victim with one of these red dots on his or her license? In California, the red dot identifies people who are willing to have their organs donated when they die. Other states have similar means of identifying potential organ donors. 

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, there are currently over 120,000 people waiting for an organ.  18 people will die each day waiting for an organ.  1 organ donor can save up to 8 lives. Organ donors make more than 28,000 transplants possible each year, saving thousands of lives. Another one million people received cornea and other tissue transplants that help them recover from various illnesses and injuries. 

So what does all of this have to do with you? Do you know what the local and state protocols are if you come across a dead body who is identified as an organ donor? How about an accident scene where the organ donor may be near death? Think these things through in advance. Be ready to help save a life by correctly handling the organ donor when the time comes. 

And that is Today’s Tip from Lexipol. Gordon Graham signing off. 

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