Donor registry and anatomical gift act; information to be included with notice of license and registration renewal; symbol on license; charitable donations; liability of government employees; transmission of information to organ procurement organizations; educational materials
M.G.L. c. 90, § 8D
in effectc. 90, § 8D. Donor registry and anatomical gift act; information to be included with notice of license and registration renewal; symbol on license; charitable donations; liability of government employees; transmission of information to organ procurement organizations; educational materials
Section 8D. The registrar shall include in every notice of license and registration renewal, including an electronic renewal, sent to a person licensed to operate a motor vehicle under this chapter who has not previously made an anatomical gift through the donor registry under clause (1) of subsection (a) of section 5 of chapter 113A a document or statement containing a summary description and explanation of the donor registry and the anatomical gift act as provided in chapter 113A. The registrar shall affix a suitable symbol to the license of a person who has made an anatomical gift under said chapter 113A.
The registrar may, on behalf of the commonwealth, accept and use gifts of materials to effectuate this section, and may, on behalf of a charitable institution, accept gifts, contributions and bequests of funds from individuals, foundations and from federal or other governmental bodies for the purposes of chapter 113A and may transmit the same to such charitable institution and may make and sign any agreements and may do and perform any acts which may be necessary or desirable to carry out this section.
The registrar shall include on any license renewal form, including any electronic renewal form, an option for the person submitting the form to donate a sum of not less than $2 to the Organ and Tissue Donor Registration Fund established in section 35E1/2 of chapter 10; provided, that the registrar may include such an option on other forms issued by the registrar, including, but not limited to, forms for electronic monetary transactions, license identification, permit renewals and duplicates, non-commercial registration renewals and duplicate title forms. The registrar shall annually report the total amount designated under this paragraph to the state treasurer who shall credit amounts received for that purpose to the fund.
Neither the registrar nor any employee of the commonwealth shall be liable in a suit for damages as a result of any acts or omissions or for any other action under this section.
The registrar shall provide to organ procurement organizations, as defined in section 2 of chapter 113A, serving the commonwealth access through electronic transmission to names, dates of birth and other pertinent information of licensed drivers and identification card holders who have registered with the registry as organ and tissue donors for the sole purpose of identifying those drivers as donors in the donor registry pursuant to said chapter 113A. On any form used by the registry for organ and tissue donation, there shall be a disclaimer that informs the donor that certain information shall be provided to organ procurement organizations upon the donor's death.
The registrar shall include, in the required driver education and training course as provided for in section 8 and in section 13D of chapter 71, an information session on organ and tissue donation. The information session shall include educational materials to be provided by organ procurement organizations serving the commonwealth.
The registrar shall make available in all registry branches educational materials as provided by organ procurement organizations serving the commonwealth. The registrar shall make available in all registry branches registration stands provided by the Be the Match organization.
The registrar shall develop a means by which a person licensed by the registrar to operate a motor vehicle or holding an identification card issued under section 8E to register as an organ and tissue donor through the registry's website. The means shall be in addition to and shall contain the same security provisions as provided for the online renewal of licenses and registrations.
Source: Massachusetts General Court (malegislature.gov)URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXIV/Chapter90/Section8DFetched: 10/20/2026