Understanding Organ Donation

FAQ's

Q. Who can become a donor? 
A. All individuals can indicate their intent to donate (persons under 18 years of age must have parent or guardian's consent). There are no age limitations on who can donate. The deciding factor on whether a person can donate is the person’s physical condition, not the person’s age. Newborns as well as senior citizens have been organ donors. Medical suitability for donation is determined at the time of death. 

Q. What can be donated? 
A. Organs: heart, kidneys, pancreas, lungs, liver, and intestines. Tissues: cornea, skin, bone marrow, heart valves, and connective tissue. 

Q. Will the identity of the recipients be revealed to the donor family? 
A. The identity of both the donor and the recipient is confidential. Organ Procurement Organizations (O.P.O.) provide the donor's family with basic information about the recipients, such as age, sex, profession and general location. Some donor families and recipients choose to communicate through anonymous letter writing. 

Q. Will organ/tissue donation interfere with funeral arrangements or change the donor's appearance? 
A. Removal of organs will not interfere with customary funeral arrangements (including open casket services). The operation is performed as soon as possible under standard sterile conditions in a hospital operating room by a surgeon and operating team. There is no alteration in the donor's appearance following organ or tissue donation. 

Q. How do I express my wishes to become an organ and tissue donor? 
A. Register as an organ donor, and indicate your intent to be an organ and tissue donor on your driver’s license. Remember to carry an organ donor card, but most importantly, Discuss your decision with family members and loved ones. Register Now! >>

Q. If I sign a donor card or indicate my donation preferences on my driver’s license, will my wishes be carried out? 
A. Because of new legislation in Michigan, an anatomical gift made by a will or a document of gift (e.g. donor registry card) would not be revocable after the death of the donor, making the donor's wishes paramount. Even if you sign a donor card, it best to share your wishes with with your family. 

Q. If I sign a donor card, will it affect the quality of medical care I receive at the hospital? 
A. No! Every effort is made to save your life before donation is considered. Organ and tissue recovery takes place only after all efforts to save your life have been exhausted and death has been legally declared. The medical team treating you is completely separate from the transplant team. The organ procurement organization (OPO) is not notified until all lifesaving efforts have failed and death has been determined. The OPO does not notify the transplant team until your family has consented to donation. 

Q. Why should minorities be particularly concerned about organ donation?
A. Some diseases of the kidney, heart, lung, pancreas and liver are found more frequently in racial and ethnic minority populations than in the general population. For example, African Americans, Asian and Pacific Islanders and Hispanics are three times more likely to suffer from end-stage renal disease than Whites. Native Americans are four times more likely than Whites to suffer from diabetes. Some of these diseases are best treated through transplantation; others can ONLY be treated through transplantation. Successful transplantation often is enhanced by the matching of organs between members of the same ethnic and racial group. For example, any patient is less likely to reject a kidney if it is donated by an individual who is genetically similar. Generally, people are genetically more similar to people of their own ethnicity or race than to people of other races. 

Q. Are there any costs to my family for donation?
A. The donor’s family does NOT pay for the cost of the organ donation. All costs related to donation of organs and tissues are paid by the recipient, usually through insurance, Medicare or Medicaid. 

Q. Can I sell my organs?
A. No! The National Organ Transplant Act (Public Law 98-507) makes it ILLEGAL to sell human organs and tissues. Violators are subject to fines and imprisonment. Among the reasons for this rule is the concern of Congress that buying and selling of organs might lead to inequitable access to donor organs with the wealthy having an unfair advantage. 

Q. How are organs distributed?
A. Patients are matched to organs based on a number of factors including blood and tissue typing, medical urgency, time on the waiting list, and geographical location. 

Q. Who will receive my organs and tissues? 
A. The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) maintains a national waiting list for vital organs. When an organ becomes available the list is reviewed to determine who will receive the organ. Criteria include distance from the donor, blood and tissue type, current physical condition and length of time on the waiting list. Since time is very important, local recipients are considered first, then regional and then national recipients. Kidneys are the most needed organs on the waiting list. Tissue banks do not have a national waiting list and are allocated through local tissue banks. 

Q. If I indicate on my driver’s license I want to be a donor, is that enough? 
A. Most states encourage you to sign your driver’s license indicating your wishes. We encourage you to register and carry a donor card in addition to your license. Sometimes the license is separated from a person in an accident. One of the most important elements of becoming an organ donor is that you discuss your wishes with your next of kin and with your family. 

Q. What is required consent or required request? 
A. In 1986 legislation was passed which required all hospitals to develop protocol to ask the next of kin for permission to procure the organs of the patient at the time of impending death. This is why it is so important to discuss donation with your family when you register as an organ donor so they will know your wishes. 

Q. What is brain death? 
A. Death occurs in two ways; cessation of cardiopulmonary function and cessation of brain function. Brain death occurs when a person has an irreversible, catastrophic brain injury which causes all brain activity to stop permanently. 

Q. Can living people donate organs? 
A. Under certain circumstances, a family member can give a kidney to another member of the immediate family (including mother, father, sister, brother). A living person can also donate bone marrow and certain parts of the pancreas. 

Q. Will the body try to reject the new organ? 
A. Yes. The recipient's body will identify the transplanted organ as a foreign object and will attempt to destroy it. Medication is required to control this reaction. 

Q. What happens if the organ is rejected? 
A. Specialized medications are administered and can often correct the rejection. If the rejection cannot be corrected, lifesaving measures must be taken. Attempts may be made to locate another organ for retransplantation. Due to the shortage of donated organs, many recipients die before another organ becomes available. Fortunately, kidney/pancreas transplant patients can return to dialysis or insulin therapy while awaiting a retransplant. 

Q. How do organ/tissue recovery programs learn of potential donors? 
A. When medical personnel in a hospital have identified a potential donor, they use a 24 hour number to contact the O.P.O. A procurement transplant coordinator then assists the referring hospital and the donor family with the medical, legal, and ethical aspects of donation. 

Q. Can organs/tissues be transplanted between sexes and races? 
A. In most cases, yes. Organ size is critical to match donor and recipient hearts, livers and lungs. Genetic makeup between kidney donors and recipients is more critical; due to genetic makeup, African Americans will "match" better with a kidney donated from an African American than any other race as will Asians to Asians, etc. 

Q. How long must a patient wait for a transplant? 
A. The time a patient spends on the waiting list for an organ can vary from a few days to several years. The length of their wait is affected by several factors, such as the urgency of their medical condition and the availability of donated organs. Tissue banks have a very limited supply of donated skin, bone, heart valves, tendons and corneas. All patients awaiting an organ or tissue transplant depend upon the generosity of donors and their families to give the "gift of life".