Donate Life Tennessee Specialty License Plate Officially Headed to Production

After years of determination and four separate attempts, Tennessee has officially reached a milestone worth celebrating.

Thanks to the incredible support of Tennesseans across the state, the Donate Life Tennessee specialty license plate has surpassed the required 1,000 pre-orders, officially clearing the final hurdle needed for production by the Tennessee Department of Revenue.

For Mid-South Transplant Foundation, Tennessee Donor Services, and Donate Life Tennessee, this achievement represents far more than the creation of a specialty license plate. It is the result of years of collaboration, unwavering commitment, and a shared mission to inspire more conversations about the lifesaving impact of organ, eye, and tissue donation.

While the campaign officially launched in July 2025 following legislative approval, the vision itself had been pursued through four separate efforts before finally becoming a reality. Each attempt brought renewed determination from donor families, transplant recipients, volunteers, healthcare professionals, community partners, and supporters who believed Tennessee deserved a specialty plate dedicated to the gift of life.

This year, that persistence paid off.

Thousands of supporters rallied together, purchasing plates, sharing the campaign on social media, encouraging friends and family to participate, and helping spread awareness throughout communities across the state. Together, they pushed the campaign beyond the 1,000 pre-order requirement, ensuring the Donate Life Tennessee specialty plate will soon appear on roads across Tennessee.

“This milestone belongs to everyone who believed in this mission,” said the Donate Life Tennessee partnership. “After four attempts, seeing this vision become reality is both humbling and inspiring. We are deeply grateful to every person who helped us cross the finish line.”

Every Donate Life Tennessee specialty license plate represents something greater than a vehicle registration.

It honors the selfless generosity of organ, eye, and tissue donors and their families. It celebrates the lives of transplant recipients who have been given a second chance. It serves as a daily reminder of the thousands of individuals still waiting for a lifesaving transplant. Most importantly, it creates opportunities for conversations that encourage more Tennesseans to register as organ, eye, and tissue donors.

As one of Tennessee’s two federally designated organ procurement organizations, Mid-South Transplant Foundation is proud to have partnered with Tennessee Donor Services through Donate Life Tennessee to help make this vision a reality. This milestone would not have been possible without the dedication of advocates, volunteers, hospital partners, businesses, media outlets, community organizations, and countless individuals who championed this effort every step of the way.

While the production of the specialty plate marks the successful completion of one goal, it also represents the beginning of something much bigger. As these plates begin appearing across Tennessee, they will continue raising awareness, inspiring conversations, and reminding people that one decision can save and heal countless lives.

To every person who purchased a plate, shared the campaign, volunteered their time, or helped spread the word: thank you.

After four attempts, your support has helped create a lasting symbol of hope that will continue driving awareness for organ, eye, and tissue donation for years to come.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — April is National Donate Life Month. It highlights the life-saving impact of organ donors.

For one Mid-South family, that gift meant more time after years of dialysis.

For 5 years and 40 days, Memphis woman Gay Hannah’s life revolved around dialysis, strict limits and waiting.

Waiting for a call that could save her life.

“The doctor came in and was like, ‘Man, if it was 30 minutes later and you didn’t get her here in enough time, she would not be here,'” Hannah’s son, Matthew, said.
In 2015, what she thought was exhaustion turned into a medical emergency.

Doctors realized she was minutes from death — and diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure. She started dialysis three times a week, a grueling process that kept her alive but limited her life.

But days before her 60th birthday, the call came.

“To wake up after 5 years and 40 days and realize that I’ve been given a second chance to live,” Gay said, “that every breath that I take, I can’t take it for granted.”

More than 100,000 people in the United States are currently waiting for a transplant, most of them for kidneys.

Becoming a donor is simple.

You can sign up online or when you renew your driver’s license.

Hannah says the most important step is making sure your family knows your decision.

Now five years removed from her transplant, Hannah is happy, healthy and using her journey to inspire others, even writing a book about her experience.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and the Mid-South Transplant Foundation marked National Pediatric Transplant Week with a special tribute.

Transplant recipients, their families and donor families were honored during a flag-raising ceremony highlighting how organ donation saves children’s lives.

Among those sharing their stories is kidney transplant recipient Artavius Veasey, who said they are living proof donation works and are now giving back as ambassadors in the community.

“It’s very important for people in the community to see to know and see someone who is African-American and who is thriving 21 years with a kidney transplant to dispel the myths and misconceptions and to know that organ donation really does work,” Veasey said.

One mother spoke to that importance and the pride in her son for helping others.

“You know on your driver license where it said you wanted to be a donor. So he said since somebody helped me, he wanted to help somebody else. He said he want his legacy to live so he helped 67 people…so I was proud of that,” Tremetrius Barnes said.

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At 15, Artavius Veasey received a kidney from his father during a living-donor transplant at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian)
Artavius Veasey was 3 years old when he was diagnosed with hereditary kidney disease, which often leads to kidney failure.

After several years on dialysis, he needed a transplant to save his life — and he got one, thanks to an organ donation.

And on Thursday, Aug. 21, he shared his story during Coffee & Conversations, a donor-awareness event organized by the Mid-South Transplant Foundation and held at Cxfeeblack’s new location at 3386 Bowen Ave. The event was designed to encourage people of color to consider organ donation.

“It’s a blessing that I’m still around and able to do what I do to spread awareness and to be an influence,” said Veasey, who’s now 35 and works as a digital communications coordinator for the Mid-South Transplant Foundation.

Cxffeeblack teamed up with the Mid-South Transplant Foundation for a Coffee & Conversation event to encourgae people to become organ donors. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian)
Sixty percent of the 100,000 individuals on the national transplant waiting list are from racial and ethnic minority groups.

And Black Americans are more than four times more likely to develop end-stage kidney disease than their white peers, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

“This event is a new twist on a town hall meeting,” said Mary Beck, Mid-South Transplant Foundation’s community relations coordinator. “It’s designed as an opportunity to provide a welcoming and comfortable place for people to enjoy some wonderful coffee and talk about organ and tissue donation.”

During the event, Black transplant recipients shared their stories.

At 15, Veasey received a kidney from his father during a living-donor transplant at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital.

After a recovery period, Veasey’s health improved, and he was able to return to Germantown High School.

He’s been an advocate for organ donation ever since, along with his mother, 52-year-old Tremetrius Barnes.

Artavius Veasey, left, and his mother, Tremetrius Barnes, together at the Coffee & Conversation event at Cxffeeblack on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025. Veasey and Barnes both had life-saving kidney transplants. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian)
An ambassador for the Mid-South Transplant Foundation, Barnes also suffered from kidney disease and received an organ transplant, hers from a deceased donor in Oregon.

Barnes has remained healthy since her transplant surgery 26 years ago.

Her other son, Reginald Smith Jr., she said, chose to become an organ donor because of his family history.

“He said he wanted to do it because somebody helped me and somebody helped his brother, and if anything happened to him, he wanted somebody else to be helped,” Barnes said.

Smith was killed in a car wreck five years ago at age 24, and 67 people received his organs and tissues.

“Even though we, as a family, had to go through the whole process of grieving his passing, knowing that he saved so many people kind of lets his legacy live on,” Veasey said.

After the Coffee & Conversation event at Cxffeeblack on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, Sammy Ly said he was considering becoming an organ donor. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian)
Members of the public were invited to Coffee & Conversations to learn more about organ donation. Among those who attended was 25-year-old Sammy Ly of East Memphis.

Ly is among the 56% of eligible Tennesseans who have not registered as an organ donor.

“As a young person, you don’t like to think that your life could end tomorrow,” he said. “And it’s sort of confronting your mortality. These decisions can be really scary for families because they’re made at such a lightning-fast pace. I think having discussions ahead of time is important.”

But after attending Thursday’s event and hearing from Veasey, Ly said he’s leaning toward checking that box.

“He told me he was able to get a kidney from a donor and have a normal and healthy and beautiful life because someone was able to give him a kidney,” he said. “Giving other people more time with their family members — I think that’s the most beautiful gift you can give.”

By Aisling Mäki, Daily MemphianUpdated: August 21, 2025 7:12 PM CT | Published: August 21, 2025 7:09 PM CT

MSTF received a grant through the Cordova, TN, Walmart store. The store awarded MSTF $2,000. The grant is part of the Walmart Foundation Local Community Grants Program. MSTF was selected as a grant recipient based on its work in the community served by the store.

Ambassador Richard Edmondson learned about the grant program for nonprofit organizations. He then approached the stores about MSTF and encouraged MSTF to apply.

“We want to thank Walmart in Cordova and Richard Edmondson,” said Kim Van Frank, MSTF Executive Director. “We are so pleased to receive this grant and honored to be recognized by our local Walmart store.”

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