UK HealthCare launches new organ donation sign-up through MyChart
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 20, 2025) — UK HealthCare has implemented a powerful new tool in the ongoing effort to save lives through organ donation: a seamless registration feature within the Epic MyChart patient portal.
This collaboration between Epic Systems and Donate Life America (DLA) enables patients to register as organ, eye and tissue donors directly from their phones or computers. UK HealthCare is the first organization in Kentucky to launch this new feature.
For UK HealthCare Transplant Director Melinda Fox, the decision to adopt this feature aligns with UK HealthCare’s goal of improving health outcomes and empowering patients. With more than 100,000 individuals in the United States currently waiting for lifesaving organ transplants, and more than 1,000 of them in Kentucky alone, streamlining the donor registration process is critical.
“This is an important step in increasing the number on the registry, which ultimately increases transplants and saves lives,” said Fox. “I hope this new partnership increases registry numbers and helps decrease the number of patients waiting for a second chance at life. By having additional platforms connected to the registry/sign-up, conversations among all groups will hopefully increase. I think these one-on-one personal discussions are critical."
The new functionality allows adults 18 or older in the United States to register as organ donors through their MyChart account, regardless of medical history. Once a health care organization like UK HealthCare enables the feature, patients can complete their registration with just a few clicks.
Importantly, this registration is completely private. The decision is documented in the National Donate Life Registry but is not visible to a patient’s care team. Only donation professionals will have access to the information and only if necessary to honor the donor’s wishes after death.
As of 2023, about 50% of U.S. adults registered as donors when prompted at the DMV. Now, with MyChart offering a familiar and secure environment for health management, 180 million users nationwide, including thousands at UK HealthCare, have a new trusted way to register their lifesaving decisions.
UK HealthCare’s IT team worked quickly to implement the donor registration feature through Epic’s standard quarterly upgrade cycle.
“We adopted the feature as soon as it was available from Epic to implement using our standard quarterly upgrades, which bring new features to patients in routine, timely intervals throughout the year,” said Kayla Staley, director of digital engagement at UK HealthCare. “As an organization, we try to take every new feature that is available to us to maximize the investment in the technology as well as increase usability for consumers of the product.”
This proactive approach ensures patients benefit from the most up-to-date technology, while helping the organization remain a leader in digital health innovation.
According to DLA, one organ donor can save up to eight lives, restore sight to two people, and heal more than 75 others through tissue donation. And with more than 2 million Kentuckians already registered as donors, UK HealthCare hopes this new feature will help close the gap between those who support donation and those who are formally registered.
UK HealthCare's early adoption of this innovative tool underscores its ongoing commitment to patient empowerment and advancing the health of Kentucky while giving new hope to thousands waiting for a second chance at life.
UK HealthCare is the hospitals and clinics of the University of Kentucky. But it is so much more. It is more than 10,000 dedicated health care professionals committed to providing advanced subspecialty care for the most critically injured and ill patients from the Commonwealth and beyond. It also is the home of the state’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, a Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that cares for the tiniest and sickest newborns and the region’s only Level 1 trauma center.
As an academic research institution, we are continuously pursuing the next generation of cures, treatments, protocols and policies. Our discoveries have the potential to change what’s medically possible within our lifetimes. Our educators and thought leaders are transforming the health care landscape as our six health professions colleges teach the next generation of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals, spreading the highest standards of care. UK HealthCare is the power of advanced medicine committed to creating a healthier Kentucky, now and for generations to come.