Educator Resources – Organ Donation Lesson Plans

Organ Donation Lesson Plans and Student Worksheets

Thank you for your interest in the Donate Life California High School Education program. We’re happy to provide you with these organ donation lesson plans to get you started with educating your students.

Each year thousands of California high school students apply for their first driver’s license or identification (ID) card. They are presented with the opportunity to join the organ and tissue donor registry through Donate Life California. Many students are unaware of what being a donor means and how they can greatly help their communities by saying “YES!” to donation when applying for their driver’s license. Providing information to students prior to going to the DMV allows them to make an educated decision.

Click on the lessons below to download each of the organ donation lesson plans from our Educator Resource Guide. To download the full Educator Resource Guide or to access the Check Yes to Donation” video for high school students, click on the orange boxes at the bottom of the page.

If you would like to schedule an organ donation presentation with someone from our Speaker’s Bureau for your high school class, click here.

(The links below allow you to download complete organ donation lesson plans or portions of a lesson plan.) 

Lesson Plan 1 – What Do You Know About Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation

Student Activity #1
True/False Answers

Lesson Plans #2 and #3 – High School DVD and Guest Classroom Speaker

“Check Yes to Donation”
Schedule an Organ and Tissue Donation Presentation

Lesson Plan #4 – The “5 Ws” of Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation

The Organ Donation Process
Understanding Brain Death
Transplantable Organs Poster
Transplantable Tissues Poster

Lesson Plan #5 – Stories of Hope: The Faces of Organ Donation

Stories of Hope Response Questions
Alfonso Garcia, liver recipient
Geary McKoy, kidney recipient
Melanie Miers, organ donor
Vicky Nguyen, liver recipient
Gallery of Stories of Hope

          Videos of Hope

Videos of Hope

Lesson Plan #6 – Letter to My Family

Letter to My Family

Lesson Plan #7 – Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation in the Public Arena

Additional Educator Resources (click each link below to access)

Frequently Asked Questions

Glossary of Terms

Local Donation Resources

National Donation Resources

Careers Associated with Transplantation

Crossword Puzzle
Crossword Puzzle Answer Key

Donation Word Search
Donation Word Search Answer Key

Schedule a Classroom Presentation

Schedule a Presentation for Students

Complete Educator Resource Guide

Donate Life California Education Resource Guide

Check Yes to Donation Video

Check Yes to Donation