By Stephanie Sanchez / El Paso Times

08/16/2007 08:17:42 PM MDT

There are more than 7,000 patients in Texas waiting for an organ transplant and more than 400 people died last year waiting for a transplant.

In 2006, the Texas Department of State Health Services launched the Glenda Dawson Donate Life -- Texas Registry online. People who register will be mailed a card requiring information to be placed on an official organ donor list. Texas is one of 40 states that has such Web site.

"What we're hoping with this registry is that people will think about donation now while they're healthy, rather then in a crisis situation," said Pamela Silvestri, Southwest Transplant Alliance spokesperson. "And families won't have to make such a difficult decision under difficult circumstances" once a person dies, she said.

The Web site was created to ensure families of people wishing to donate organs follow through with their wishes once they die, she said.

Currently, there are from 60,000 to 75,000 people registered, Silvestri said. Within the next five years, the goal is to have half of the State's licensed drivers population registered.

"My aunt donated her organs and the man who worked here was really influencial," said Paula Duran, who is now a Southwest Transplant Alliance regional client services coordinator. "He asked if my aunt was a loving and giving person, and we said 'yes' she was."

People who want to donate should talk to their family members to inform them, she said.

She said she recently talked to the family of a 21-year-old man who died, about donating his organs.

"He was healthy, and his family said no," she said. "This was like a stab to the heart, because I saw how many people my aunt's organs helped."

Every day 17 people die waiting for an organ transplant, according to the registry Web site.

Duran's aunt saved the lives of three people, who she said her family keeps in contact with.

Families of donors can meet the donor recipents if both parties give consent.

"One donor can save or enhance the lives of more than 50 people with gifts of organs, tissue and eyes," Evelyn Delgado, assistant commissioner for Family and Community Health Services, said in a written statement. "The Web site makes it easier for people to get the facts about organ donation and decide if registering as a donor is right for them."