Coosa recognizes organ donation during Donate Life Month
Tag office participating in office decoration contest
The Coosa County tag office is joining others across the state in entering an office decoration contest recognizing April as National Donate Life Month. Names of Coosa County organ donors and recipients are included in the display. Photo by Christa Jennings
By Christa Jennings
Senior Staff Writer
Spring has sprung once again, and with signs of new life and new beginnings comes National Donate Life Month for the month of April, a time to honor organ, eye and tissue donors and the lives they have saved.
National Donate Life Month was established by Donate Life America and its partnering organizations in 2003. Observed annually in April, National Donate Life Month helps raise awareness about donation; encourages Americans to register as organ, eye and tissue donors; and honors those who have saved lives through the gift of donation.
The 2026 theme is “Leave a Legacy,” which utilizes trees as symbols of life, growth and connection. The theme is meant to highlight how organ, eye and tissue donation creates a lasting legacy of hope, connecting donors, recipients and families just as trees support one another in a forest.
Legacy of Hope, Alabama’s organ and tissue donation alliance, stated, “Just as trees grow and support each other in a forest, donation connects people – donors, recipients and their families. Like a tree that grows and stands for generations, a donor’s gift leaves a lasting legacy of hope and life.”
To help further raise awareness about organ donation and registering as a donor, this year Legacy of Hope is sponsoring a Department of Motor Vehicles, or DMV, décor contest, with driver’s license and tag offices across the state participating with various displays focused on the “Leave a Legacy” theme.
Those participating in the contest had the opportunity to win a catered lunch for their office while also raising awareness of organ, eye and tissue donation.
The Coosa County tag office’s display shows a heart, liver, kidney, lungs, and eyes on the sun to demonstrate organ donation, along with a tree to match this year’s theme.
Leaves on the tree include names of organ donors and recipients alike. Names included as of press time were the Trong family, Rachel, Greg, Tamatha Griffin, Franklin, Jennifer Standefer, Regina, Phyllis Thomas, Melissa Hardin, Amy G., Yolanda Baker, Brenann Cargile, Darren, J.P. Presley, and Valarie.
Those who would like to add the name of an organ donor or recipient may do so by notifying the tag office, and one of the clerks will happily add more names to the display.
The décor contest is taking place on Facebook through 5 p.m. April 29, with the winner being announced on April 30. The office that gets the most likes and comments and its individual picture on the Facebook post will win.
Legacy of Hope stated that multiple winners may be chosen if the office with the most likes serves a population of more than 100,000.
To vote in the décor contest, see the featured post on the Legacy of Hope’s Facebook page and like or react to the photo of Coosa County’s display to vote for it. Offices are arranged alphabetically by county.
Organ donation is far reaching, with one donor having the potential to save eight lives. In Alabama, 856 lives were saved last year according to Legacy of Hope, and there are currently 1,189 people waiting for a transplant in Alabama.
Of those on the waiting list in Alabama, 969 are waiting for a kidney, 192 are waiting for a liver, and 25 are awaiting a heart.
In Alabama, 49 candidates on the waiting list have been waiting less than 30 days for an organ, including 36 for a kidney and nine for a liver. However, 38 candidates in Alabama have been waiting five years or more for an organ donation, with 34 of those being for a kidney.
The greatest number of Alabama’s candidates, 304, has been on the waiting list between one and two years, with 241 of those being for a kidney and 56 for a liver.
Across the country, 108,872 candidates are on the waiting list for donations, with 94,637 waiting for a kidney.
There are two types of donation to help those in need, deceased donation and living donation.
Donate Life reports that through deceased donation, one organ, eye and tissue donor can save up to eight lives, restore sight to two people and heal the lives of more than 75 people.
Through living donation, living donors can provide a kidney or a portion of their liver or lung to a waiting patient in need of a transplant. The liver is the only organ that grows back, and the donated part of the liver regrows in approximately four months.
Nationally, 86% of patients waiting are in need of a kidney, which can also be provided via living donation. Living donation is not included in an individual’s deceased donor registration.
Because of the lack of available deceased-donor organs, living donation programs help to meet the growing need for organs among those awaiting a transplant. A living donor may be a relative, spouse, close friend, or even a stranger of the recipient.
Living organ donation offers another choice for some transplant candidates, reducing their time on the waiting list and leading to better long-term outcomes for the recipient. Learn more at DonateLife.net/livingdonation.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham, or UAB, has a Living Kidney Donor Program. For more information, visit www.uabmedicine.org/specialties/living-donor-program.
Nationally, more than 49,000 organ transplants from 23,788 donors brought new life to patients and their families in 2025. More than 85,900 corneal transplants also helped to restore sight.
People of all ages and medical histories are potential donors. A national system matches available organs from the donor with people on the waiting list based on blood type, body size, how sick they are, donor distance, tissue type, and time on the waiting list.
Individuals can also support organ donation and awareness by purchasing a Donate Life license plate.
Learn more about organ, eye, tissue, and living donation at DonateLife.net, or visit Alabama’s Donate Life State Team website at DonateLifeAlabama.org. You can also contact Legacy of Hope, the organ and tissue service in Birmingham, at 800-252-3677 for more information.
You can register your decision to be an organ, eye and tissue donor at your local Department
of Motor Vehicles when renewing or obtaining a driver’s license or online at RegisterMe.org.
