DMV & Online Registration (NC Law)
The symbolic icon placed on a North Carolina driver's license or state ID card when a resident consents to organ and eye donation at the NCDMV.
What is a red heart?
Contrary to the common myth that medical staff won't try as hard to save registered donors, emergency care teams do not have access to this system while treating a live patient.
What is the state donor registry?
Passed in 2007, North Carolina’s House Bill 1372 (known as "The Heart Prevails" Act) legally established this standard, ensuring an adult's decision to donate cannot be overridden by next-of-kin after death.
What is legal first-person authorization (or first-person consent)?
Bunking the myth that donation disfigures the deceased, recovery procedures are performed with surgical precision, allowing families to hold this traditional funeral arrangement.
What is an open-casket funeral (or open-viewing service)?
The official state-authorized online platform where North Carolinians can register as organ, tissue, and eye donors outside of a DMV visit.
What is DonateLifeNC.org?
Wealth, fame, or social standing cannot buy a higher place on the national organ waitlist, which is regulated strictly under this federal law banning the purchase or sale of human organs.
What is the National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA) of 1984?
Under NC Session Law 2019-210, this specific type of donation was officially added to first-person authorization alongside organs and eyes.
What is tissue donation?
This widespread concern about funeral expenses is false; all medical and surgical costs related directly to the organ recovery process are covered entirely by the Organ Procurement Organization, not the donor’s family.
What is the myth that families are charged for organ donation?
While adults (18+) establish a legally binding advanced directive upon signing up, individuals under this age can register at the DMV, but their parents or legal guardians retain final consent at the time of death.
What is 18 years old (minors / 16 and 17-year-olds)?
While many people believe conditions like older age, diabetes, or a history of cancer disqualify them, medical eligibility is evaluated at this specific point in time rather than at the time of DMV registration.
What is the time of death?