“Anyone YOUNGER THAN age 18 needs to have the consent of a p...

At this moment, more than 113,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for an organ. One more person is added to the national waiting list every 12 minutes. Each of these people is in desperate need of a kidney, liver, heart, or other organ. More than 6,500 people a year -- about 20 a day -- die before that organ ever becomes available.

Organ donors are always in short supply. There are far more people in need of a transplant than there are people willing to donate an organ. Most of the organs that are available come from deceased donors. When you fill out an organ donor card with your driver's license, you're agreeing to donate all or some of your organs if you die.

A smaller number of organs come from healthy people. More than 6,000 transplants from living donors are performed each year.

You might have wondered about donating an organ -- either to a friend or relative who needs an organ right now, or by filling out an organ donor card.

Just about anyone, at any age, can become an organ donor. Anyone younger than age18 needs to have the consent of a parent or guardian.

For organ donation after death, a medical assessment will be done to determine what organs can be donated. Certain conditions, such as having HIV, actively spreading cancer, or severe infection would exclude organ donation.

Having a serious condition like cancer, HIV, diabetes, kidney disease, or heart disease can prevent you from donating as a living donor.