Miriam Álvarez-Hernández, an undocumented immigrant, was among the first this year to get a driving permit. She also was one of the first to register as an organ donor.

New drivers like her, immigrants living in the country illegally, are credited with increasing the ranks of organ donors in California by 28 percent, compared to the same period last year.

It’s the first spike seen in recent years, and officials are attributing it to AB60, the California law that has paved the way for about 166,000 immigrants to be licensed this year, according to the latest statistics released Wednesday by the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Between Jan. 2 and March 13, 306,745 people signed up to the Donate Life California Organ and Tissue Donor Registry, an increase of 67,518 registrants over the same period last year, said a spokeswoman for the organization that manages the organ, eye and tissue registry.

“We have no doubt that new law is going to help us achieve our biggest year yet,” Charlene Zettel, the organization’s CEO, wrote on their website.

Álvarez-Hernández, 42, said she sees it as her civic duty to participate.

“We all need to take responsibility. It’s for the good of all,” said the Santa Ana resident.

Before walking into a DMV office on Jan. 2, the first day unauthorized immigrants could take a driver’s exam, Álvarez-Hernández prepared her family. If something should happen to her, she wanted her children and parents to know her wishes.

“They were surprised. They looked at me as if to ask, ‘Are you sure,’” she said. “Yes, I’m sure.”

Donating one’s organs upon death is far from entrenched in Latino culture.

“In Mexico, this is not a practice, it’s not even an option,” said Armando Vazquez-Ramos, president of the Mexican Cultural Institute of Los Angeles and a professor and co-founder of the Chicano and Latino Studies Department at Cal State Long Beach.

“It really speaks volumes of how this segment of the population can contribute to the U.S. social fabric. These are folks who now see the world through this acculturation in a much different way than if they were back home,” Vazquez-Ramos said.

Contributing to changing views among Latinos on organ donations is the support of the Roman Catholic Church.

Recent popes have spoken in favor of organ donations. Pope Benedict XVI was a card-holding organ donor until he became pope, according to the Catholic News Agency. More recently, Pope Francis described organ donations as “a testimony of love for our neighbor,” but also has spoken out against the selling of organs, according to news reports.

Exact numbers for how many of the new drivers applying for licenses under AB60 are registering as donors is not available, but officials point to the influx of new drivers as the impetus for new organ registrants.

“We were hopeful. We expected there to be some increase because there would be more people going through the system,” said Tom Mone, spokesman for One Legacy, the non-profit that oversees organ, eye and tissue donations in the Southland, including Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

While they are registering as donors, undocumented immigrants can face hurdles in becoming candidates for transplants, including access to government health care programs. Among the factors local organ transplant centers consider is whether an organ recipient has insurance or other financial means to pay for post-operative care.

Álvarez-Hernández said she is glad she made her decision.

“It’s my life. They are my organs. And I can donate them,” she said. “Even though our culture doesn’t support this very much, Latinos need to consider becoming donors.”

Contact the writer: 714-796-7829 or rkopetman@ocregister.com