The state of Tennessee is less than 300 pre-orders away from launching its first -ever Donate Life specialty license plate, andbut the June 30 deadline is approaching quickly.
Before the plate can enter production, the state requires 1,000 pre-orders. More than 700 have already been sold, according to Alex Comas, External Affairs Coordinator for Tennessee Donor Services.
Donate Life Tennessee is a collaboration of Tennessee Donor Services and Mid-South Transplant Foundation, the nonprofit organ procurement organizations serving the state. Together, these groups save and improve lives by facilitating organ, eye and tissue donation.
Featuring the iconic blue-and-green Donate Life Tennessee logo, the plate would serve as a tribute to organ and tissue donors who have saved and improved lives, honor the families who supported their decision, and recognize recipients who have been given a second chance at life. It is also a visible symbol of hope for the more than 3,000 Tennesseans and more than 100,000 Americans waiting for a lifesaving transplant.
The plate can be pre-ordered for $37.00, which includes the specialty plate fee and online payment fees. However, if the state’s 1,000-plate minimum isn’t met, those who pre-ordered will have the option to receive a full refund or use the money as a contribution to support Donate Life Tennessee’s statewide education and advocacy efforts.
Plates can be reserved and purchased here. Those who order will be notified if and when the license plate is available for pick up at the county clerk’s office.
A portion of the funds will go to raise awareness for organ, eye and tissue donation and fund statewide education and outreach for organ donation. Perhaps more important than the fundraising, the license plates will serve as small, roving billboards, raising awareness about organ and tissue donation.
Every day in the U.S., approximately 110 lives are saved through donation and transplantation, but an average of 17 Americans die each day waiting.
Donors are making a big impact locally. Sixty-nine individuals donated their organs at Vanderbilt Health in 2025, resulting in 228 lives saved. They were honored at a special ceremony in April.
The Vanderbilt Transplant Center performed 960 solid organ transplants in 2025, the most ever completed by a single center in one year in the United States. None of this would have been possible without the selfless acts of organ donors, including friends and family members who donated live kidneys and partial livers, and deceased donors of hearts, lungs, livers, kidneys and pancreases, who in their last acts gave the most personal gifts.
Donors can save as many as eight lives through organ donation and improve 75 more with the gift of tissue. For more information, visit donatelifetn.org.
