{"id":206447,"date":"2026-04-22T20:45:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T20:45:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/206447\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T20:45:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T20:45:07","slug":"new-york-state-assemblymember-yudelka-tapia-pushes-bill-to-add-organ-donation-question-to-electronic-tax-forms-bronx-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/206447\/","title":{"rendered":"New York State Assemblymember Yudelka Tapia pushes bill to add organ donation question to electronic tax forms \u2013 Bronx Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Assembly Member Yudelka Tapia, who represents the west Bronx, has sponsored a bill<\/a> to add an organ donation question to New Yorkers\u2019 tax forms, aiming to vastly increase the number of donors who can save others\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n

April is Donate Life month, and many people don\u2019t think about organ donation until they or someone they love is in need of a transplant. But approximately 8,000 people throughout the state are currently awaiting a transplant, and about 400 die each year while waiting, according to Donate Life New York State<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Each donor can save up to eight people.\n<\/p>\n

Most people elect to be organ donors while at the DMV, where as many as 80% enroll. But for those who don\u2019t interact with the DMV at all \u2014 or those who have several years between visits \u2014 they may not think of it.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, pretty much everyone has to file income taxes every single year. As many as 10 million New Yorkers do \u2014 and Tapia\u2019s bill would allow them to register as donors with the click of a button.<\/p>\n

Tapia told the Bronx Times that organ donation is reaching a \u201ccrisis\u201d level in New York state, with enrollment falling far short of the need. The DMV is \u201cone of the biggest entrants we have right now,\u201d but it\u2019s not catching everyone, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not about just willingness to be a donor. It\u2019s about access,\u201d Tapia said. \u201cMost people sign up when it\u2019s easy.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

More donors desperately needed<\/p>\n

The Bronx in particular shows plenty of room for improving its organ donor registration numbers.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Bronx and Queens Counties lag behind<\/a> the rest of the city, with 32.1% of the eligible population registered.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kings County is higher, at 39.2%, but New York County has twice as many registered donors at 61.7%. Throughout the state, ten counties have over 80%.\n<\/p>\n

For Tapia, the fight for organ donation enrollment is highly personal.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

She said three of her four children were diagnosed with kidney disease at a young age. She said her oldest son passed away, and another son waited 16 years for a donor. \u201cIt was excruciating,\u201d she said. Currently, her youngest son currently has kidney failure and needs a donor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tapia said she saw her family\u2019s tragedy as an opportunity to change the system for thousands of New Yorkers in need. \u201cThis is something happening in many of our families,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tapia said adding a donation question to tax forms would not require any new program or complicated system, and several other states have already done so, including Michigan, California and Wisconsin. In Michigan alone, 183,000 people signed up in the first year, Tapia said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Putting the question on the tax forms \u2014 where people can elect yes, no or skip \u2014 is \u201cthe biggest one that can change the game,\u201d she said. \u201cIt works, and it has been demonstrated that it works.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bill passed through the legislature last year, but Governor Hochul vetoed it, and many tax preparation companies oppose it, Tapia said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

This time around, she has taken the bill back to the finance commissioner to address past concerns and believes it will pass.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Aisha Tator, executive director of Donate Life NYS, said more people like Tapia\u2019s son, whose donation saved five people\u2019s lives, are desperately needed.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThere isn\u2019t a single community in this state not touched by this mission,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n

In addition to the DMV, the donation question has already been added to voter registration, hunting and fishing license forms, municipal ID card applications, public health insurance plan enrollment forms and more, Tator said. Residents can also enroll online at the dedicated website https:\/\/donatelifenys.org\/register<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Seeing the option repeatedly \u201ccreates that culture of donation\u201d and normalizes thinking about an unpleasant but necessary topic \u2014 what happens to our bodies after we die.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWith every one of these opportunities, New Yorkers check the box \u2018yes,\u2019\u201d Tator said. \u201cThis is what we do for each other.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Reach Emily Swanson at\u00a0eswanson@schnepsmedia.com<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0(646) 717-0015<\/a>. For more coverage, subscribe to our\u00a0newsletter<\/a>\u00a0and follow us on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>!<\/p>\n