What Does the Heart on Your Driver License Mean?

Imagine you are sitting at the driver license office. When it’s your turn to complete the application, in one form or another, you’ll be asked a question about registering your decision to be an eye, organ and tissue donor.

When someone says “yes” to being an eye, organ and tissue donor in Colorado or Wyoming, the states place the heart donation symbol on their driver license or state ID.

The Donate Life Donor Registry and What It Includes

When saying “yes”, you are signing up to be an eye, organ and tissue donor after death. The heart donation symbol, a black heart with a “Y” inside, indicates all three types of donation, not just organ.


Many individuals think that signing up for deceased donation includes only organ donation. However, registering your decision to join the donor registry includes eye tissue donation and tissue donation.

There are six different types of tissue included in deceased donation, which are corneas (eye tissue), heart valves, skin, veins, tendons, and bones.

Other Types of Donation

There are other types of healing and saving donation. Living (organ) donation, bone marrow donation, blood donation, and whole-body donation are other types of donation available to individuals.

These other types of donation, however, are not included in the Donate Life state donor registry that you sign up for at the driver license office in Colorado and Wyoming, or under the scope of the heart symbol.

Make an Informed Donation Decision and Have an Impact

Did you know that just one person has the potential to help or restore sight in up to 4 people by transplanting the corneas into two recipients and the sclera into two additional recipients?

The cornea is the clear, front part of the eye where a contact lens would sit and is responsible for 75 percent of the focusing power of the eye. The sclera is the white globe of the eye.

The Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank, exists to restore hope when hope may have been lost. Fulfilling our mission of helping another overcome blindness through transplantation and research is key to restoring sight. We encourage you to make an informed decision when it comes to eye, tissue and organ donation.

Now that you know what the heart donation symbol fully means, share your decision with your loved ones. Let them know what it means as well and how they, too, can help restore sight for those in need.