Organ donation directive for Pennsylvania
An organ donation directive records your decision about donation in writing, in your own terms, so your family and your documents agree.
$9, or $5 for a second household member ($14 for both). Includes 6 months of changes.
What you pay counts in full toward a package.
Who this is for
- You are a registered donor and want the decision in your estate documents too.
- You want to donate for research or education as well as transplant, or to limit it to certain uses.
- You do not wish to donate and want that recorded so nobody has to guess.
- Your family might disagree, and you want your own words on the record.
What it does not do
- It does not replace the state donor registry. Registering with your state is the entry a hospital checks first, and you should do both.
- It arranges nothing about your funeral. That is the disposition of remains directive.
- Medical suitability is decided at the time. No document guarantees a donation can take place.
How to sign it in your state
Pennsylvania
Anatomical Gift / Organ Donation
Sign with two disinterested witnesses as the package's authenticity safeguard.
- Witnesses: 2, and they must be present at the signing.
- Notary: optional, unless the printed signing page says otherwise.
New York
Anatomical Gift / Organ Donation
Sign with two disinterested witnesses as the package's authenticity safeguard.
- Witnesses: 2, and they must be present at the signing.
- Notary: optional, unless the printed signing page says otherwise.
New Jersey
Anatomical Gift / Organ Donation
Sign with two disinterested witnesses as the package's authenticity safeguard.
- Witnesses: 2, and they must be present at the signing.
- Notary: optional, unless the printed signing page says otherwise.
Get started
The registry is what a hospital checks. This document is where you can say the parts a registry has no field for: what uses you agree to, what you would rather not, and why.
It is short and it takes minutes. Its value is in the alignment: your registry entry, your living will, your funeral wishes and your family's understanding all pointing the same way, so that nobody spends the worst day of their life arguing about what you would have wanted.
Common questions
I already ticked the box at the DMV. Do I need this?
The registry entry is what a hospital acts on, and this document is where you can say more than a box allows - which uses you agree to, which you do not, and any limits.
Can my family overrule me?
An anatomical gift you made is generally binding and does not need family consent. In practice a clear written record makes that much easier for everyone involved.
Can I say no?
Yes. A refusal recorded in writing is as useful as a gift, and it stops the question being asked of your family at the worst possible moment.
Does it need to be notarized?
Two disinterested adult witnesses is the route this document uses. Notarisation is optional unless the printed signing page says otherwise.
Should it match my other documents?
Yes. Make sure your disposition of remains directive and your living will do not say something different.
Included in
- Will & Essentials, $69 for 18 documents, 55% less than buying the pieces. See what is in it
- Trust & Property, $129 for 28 documents, 57% less than buying the pieces. See what is in it