Lauren in 2012, advocating for donor registration to become a “mandated choice” in DMV’s transactional flow.
We sadly lost one of our community’s greatest, most influential champions with the passing of Lauren Shields, at age 26, on June 26, 2026. Through her courageous, tireless legislative advocacy efforts, with her mother Jeanne often at her side, the young heart transplant recipient inspired a pioneering law that bears her name.
Lauren with donation and transplant advocates in the NYS Assembly Chamber in 2012.
Lauren’s Law, passed in 2012 and fully implemented in 2015, mandated the donor designation question be asked at DMV offices statewide. Prior to the law’s passage, the question was optional. New York State had a historically low-performing registry in terms of donor designation share, with just 22 percent of New Yorkers enrolled in the New York State Donate Life Registry. Since its implementation, New Yorkers age 18 and older (later lowered to age 16) applying for a driver’s license at NYS Department of Motor Vehicles offices statewide are now asked if they would like to sign up as an organ donor, by selecting either “yes” or “skip this question.”
Lauren with fellow heart transplant recipient and organ donation advocate Roxanne Watson.
In October 2024, New York State surpassed a historic milestone, with the majority of New Yorkers enrolled in the Registry. Currently, 53 percent of New Yorkers have authorized the decision to make an anatomical gift upon their passing. Since New York passed Lauren’s Law, other states have followed suit and enacted similar measures in an attempt to increase their donor designation rate.
Lauren in the NYS Senate Chamber watching the vote that made Lauren’s Law permanent.
Upon securing this important victory for the donation and transplantation community, the Rockland County resident became a renowned advocate not only for Donate Life NYS, but for other health causes, speaking on behalf of the American Heart Association and the New York Blood Center. Her inspiring story was featured nationally on the NBC Nightly News and even internationally on Japanese Fuji TV and Russian Channel 1 News.
Lauren at age 16 when she became old enough to say “Yes” to Lauren’s Law.
Over the years, Lauren courageously battled multiple health issues following her heart transplant just before her 9th birthday, in 2009. She would later receive a lifesaving kidney donation from her mother. Despite repeated hospitalization, she remained undaunted, frequently joining Donate Life NYS for our legislative advocacy sessions in Albany each April.
Lauren’s lasting legacy will continue to have a profound impact on countless New Yorkers who received the gift of life and sight through organ and tissue donation.
Click here to view Lauren’s obituary.