Organ and tissue donation is a medicinal method that saves and improves lives. Doctors collect organs from a donor and transplant them to someone who is very ill. And tissue donors help transform lives through eye and tissue donations.
Anonymity between donor and recipient is confirmed by the Human Tissue Act of 1983. Australia has one of the world’s highest transplant success rates. And statistics show that most Australians support organ and tissue donation.
Fast Facts About Organ Donation in the United States
- More than 114,000 men, women, and children are on the Global Transplant Waiting List
- Twenty people die everyday waiting for an organ
- Almost 35,000 transplants took place in 2017
- Around 80 people receive an organ transplantation every day
- In 2018, 17,500 people donated their organs, tissues, and eyes
What is organ donation?
Organ donation is providing an organ and tissue to help someone who needs a transplant.
Transplants can save or change a person’s life. One organ and one tissue donor can help change the lives of more than 10 people. This depends on donors and their families willing to donate their organs and tissues after death.
Why is organ donation important?
The vast majority of transplantation organs come from dead donors. Death is a sad occurrence for friends and loved ones. But, organ donation gives at least one silver lining chance. By deciding in advance to donate your organs after death, you save those around you from making this tough decision. You also save precious time during which patients’ lives can change.
Many individuals are unwilling to register as organ donors for:
- Personal and cultural values
- Family members’ desires
- A desire to maintain the body preserved after death
- And a general lack of awareness about the organ donation process
The particular problem is that organs will be taken early. Doctors would not have the same length of time to save an organ donor as they will have to save a non-donor patient.
According to Dr. DeNofrio, this fear is a myth that contradicts the ethical oaths of physicians. Doctors are making every attempt to save each of their patients. It’s part of the way of thought that drives them to practice medicine. The main difference between organ donations is that their deaths can contribute to a new life. Donation is never pursued until all life-saving efforts have failed and death has been declared under the Uniform Determination of Death Act (1980).
We should value and preserve private beliefs. But we should educate people about the need for donated organs and registration ease. Every person who wishes to become an organ donor increases the likelihood that a person on the waiting list can receive a life-saving transplant. Registration is only a click away. You can register through the Motor Vehicle Department of your state.
Organ Donation is More Than Hearts, Lungs, and Kidneys
Many people think of heart, lung, and kidney transplants when they think of organ donation. But there are a variety of organs and tissues that you can donate:
- Organs including the kidneys, liver, lungs, heart, pancreas, and intestines
- The Eyes (the outermost layer of your eyes, which allows you to focus your vision)
- Tissues such as heart valves, skin, bones, and tendons
- Hands and face
- Blood stem cells, cord blood, and bone marrow
- Blood and blood platelets
The Donation Process
1. Donation After Death
In most cases, whether you come to the hospital for sickness, stroke, or injury, such as serious head injuries, you can get live support. It will keep the blood circulating to your organs to keep them alive.
It is important to note that at this point, whether or not you are a donor is not a factor. The emergency team will still do all they can to save your life.
If the medical team cannot rescue you, they will confirm the brain’s death. It is a disorder where the brain is completely and irreversibly non-functional. Only at this point would the organs be eligible for donation. Doctors do not consider coma cases eligible, as you can still recover from a coma.
2. Living Donation
You can donate some organs and tissues while you’re still alive. Nearly 6,000 live donations are made each year. Living donations usually take place between family members or near friends. Many people want to donate to someone they don’t know to save their lives.
Living donors can donate the following:
- One or both of the two kidneys
- One of the two liver lobes
- The lung or part of the lung, part of the pancreas or part of the intestines
- Skin after surgery, such as abdominoplasty (the removal of excess fat and skin from the abdomen)
- Bone after knee and hip replacement
- Healthy bone marrow and umbilical cord blood cells
- The amniotic sac after birth
- Blood, including white and red blood cells, platelets, and serum that holds blood cells in the circulatory system;
These organs will all be donated safely. Some of the organs you will live without, like one of your kidneys. And others can grow back, like your liver or blood.
Before being a living donor, you would need to undergo a full evaluation. Living donors should be in good health and between the ages of 18 and 60. They were also not expected to have had diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, etc., in the past.
The recipient’s insurance covers medical costs related to the donation. Or, in some cases, the Transplant Centers Organ Acquisition Fund (OAF) bears the cost.
The Matching Process
Both donations after death and a living donation require a match between the recipient and the donor. There are some common considerations in the matching process. These include the blood type and how long the recipient has been on the waiting list. But other factors are more important depending on the organ donated.
For example, the hearts and lungs cannot live outside the body and the kidneys. So, the geographical distance between the donor and the recipient may consider whether or not the organ is appropriate for those in need.
Matching factors may include:
- The type of blood
- The size of the body
- The medical status of the recipient
- The distance between the donor and the receiver hospitals
- The amount of time the receiver spent on the waiting list
The matching process makes it possible for the recipient body to accept the new organ. However, it limits the number of individuals from which patients may receive an organ.
If there are more registered donors, there is a better chance that someone searching for an organ will find a match to save their lives.
The Bottom Line
There are a few medical issues that will impact the possibility of someone becoming a donor.
You should not rule out yourself based on your medical condition or age. At death, a detailed assessment is carried out by a qualified health provider involved with your care to determine whether or not some or all of the organs and tissues are suitable for transplantation.
Having the right conditions to encourage donation is rare-less than one percent of all patients who die in the hospital every year are medically fit to become organ donors. That’s why you must register your decision to be an organ and tissue donor.
