If you would like to become an organ donor and extend the gift of life with parts of your body that you no longer will need in the afterlife, you may now officially express your intention to La Caja (Costa Rica’s public health system) over the Internet. As part of the “Atrévete a Donar” (Dare to Donate) campaign, more than 7,500 people in Costa Rica have registered as organ donors using La Caja’s Web portal.

 

For many years, Costa Rica lived through a religious and legislative dichotomy in terms of organ and tissue donation. As a constitutionally and predominantly Catholic nation, there has been some controversy on whether La Caja should facilitate organ and tissue donation. As is the case with many other issues in this country, people looked towards the Catholic Church and the government for guidance in this matter.

 

In 2010, Law Number 7409 – Authorization to Transplant Organs and Other Parts of the Human Anatomy – was approved by the legislature and enacted by former President Laura Chinchilla. The law essentially follows the Vatican’s view on organ donation, which in 2011 was summarized in a Catholic News Agency article:

 

Catholics may in good conscience offer the gift of life through the donation of their organs after death based on neurological or cardio-pulmonary criteria according to current Church teaching.

 

In essence, the law states that, if you are alive and conscious and want to donate a part of your body that will not compromise your health post-extraction, you may do so after you go through a disclosure process. This does not authorize to sell one of your kidneys -that is illegal. If you have passed away and have registered as a donor, lots of posthumous gratitude will be thrown your way as your organs are extracted to keep someone else alive.

 

As with many other laws in Costa Rica, implementation and rulemaking proved difficult, and misunderstandings ensued. The law is clear insofar as allowing donors to register their intention or opposition to donating their organs and tissue whenever they renew their cédula (national identification card) or their residency permit.

 

It is not known whether tourists and undocumented immigrants in Costa Rica can enter the registry, but La Caja has established an online sign-up system for anyone who is 18 years of age or older. The single-page Web form is located at:

 

http://www.ccss.sa.cr/donar

 

The information donors must provide includes:

 

• Name
• Cédula
• Phone number
• Email address
• Province
• Canton
• District
• Physical address (as in: From the pulperia The Last Coke in the Desert, 300 meters north…)
• Name of next of kin

 

The only mandatory field on this form is the email address, which means that donors who do not have a cédula number could leave it blank if they wish. There is also a nifty organ donor wallet card that can be downloaded, printed out and kept in a purse or wallet to indicate your intention.