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Utah is one of 12 states awarded a national silver medal for the effectiveness of its organ donor registry.

The medal is given by Donate Life America, which evaluated registries based on measures that included how many residents and drivers are registered donors.

About 70 percent of Utahns between the ages of 18 and 72 have joined the Utah Donor Registry. Intermountain Donor Services says the success of the registry — the number of people saying yes on their driver license or signing up online — has a direct correlation to the number of lives saved.

The agency planned to honor the Utah Driver License Division on Wednesday, thanking staff for their work to make Utah's registry successful.

"For many people," it said in a statement, "the first time they consider organ donation is when they first receive their driver license or ID card."

To learn more about organ, eye and tissue donation or to register on the Yes Utah Donor Registry, log on to http://www.yesutah.org.

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