Understanding Organ and Tissue Donations
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is there a need for organ and tissue donors?
- Who can be a donor?
- How do I become an organ and tissue donor?
- How do organ/tissue recovery programs learn of potential donors?
- Will medical personnel work as hard to save me if they know I am a donor?
- What is meant by brain death?
- Will organ and tissue donation interfere with funeral arrangements or change the appearance of the donor's body?
- Will donation delay the funeral?
- Is donation against my religious beliefs?
- How are patients needing organs identified to the recovery team?
- How long must a patient wait for a transplant?
- Can organs/tissues be transplanted between sexes and races?
- Will my family have to pay if I am a donor?
- Isn't it cruel to talk to a grieving family about donation?
- Can I sell my organs?
- Do celebrities and rich people receive priority in receiving organs?
- Will the body try to reject the new organ?
- Will the identity of the recipients be revealed to the donor family?
Is
there a need for organ and tissue donors?
Yes! In the US there are
nearly 100,000 individuals waiting for transplants in the United States today and many thousands more
in need of tissue and cornea transplants.
Due to the shortage of donated organs and tissues not everyone
receives the transplant they need.
Who
can be a donor?
Age limitations may apply with some specific organs and tissues, but
in general, anyone who wishes to donate should sign a donor card and have
a family discussion. Donor
suitability is determined at the time of death.
How
do I become an organ and tissue donor?
The most important step in becoming a donor is to discuss your wishes
with your immediate family members. They
will be asked at the time of your death to give permission for your
donation. After discussing
your wishes with your family, fill out a donor card (click here to
request a donor card), and
enroll in the New York State Organ and Tissue Donor
Registry.
How
do organ/tissue recovery programs learn of potential donors?
According to law, all hospitals in the US are required to notify their
designated organ procurement organization of all deaths and imminent
deaths. UNYTS has a
communication center that operates 24 hours a day to handle referrals from
Western New York hospitals.
Will
medical personnel work as hard to save me if they know I am a donor?
The quality of medical and nursing care will not change,
regardless of your decision to be a donor.
Doctors, nurses and other personnel who treat patients at the time
of death are in no way involved with transplant programs or possible
recipients. Donation is
considered only after every effort has been made to save the patient's
life.
What
is meant by brain death?
Brain death occurs in patients who have suffered a traumatic injury to
the brain. As a result of the
injury the brain swells and obstructs its own blood supply.
Without blood flow, all brain tissue dies. Artificial support systems may maintain functions such as
heartbeat and respiration for a few days, but not permanently.
Brain death is an established medical and legal diagnosis of death.
A physician can confirm brain death beyond a doubt, using a strict
neurological examination. Click
here for more information about brain death and cardiac death.
Will
organ and tissue donation interfere with funeral arrangements or change
the appearance of the donor's body?
Donation doesn't usually disfigure the body or change the way it
looks in a casket. On rare
occasions, there may be some swelling or discoloration at the recovery
site. The funeral director can usually minimize this during
preparation so that it is not noticeable during viewing.
Most donations are performed in operating room conditions (cornea
donations may be performed at bedside), and the body is treated with the
same care as a surgery patient. After
donation surgery, the body is carefully reconstructed to normal appearance
and donation coordinators -- the professionals who handle arrangements for
the donation -- provide funeral directors with detailed information so the
body can be prepared for burial. There
are no obvious stitches and donation won't usually interfere with
funeral plans including open casket services.
Will
donation delay the funeral?
In general, organ and tissue donation must take place within 12 to 24
hours after a declaration of death. Most
donations are completed sooner. Immediately
after the donation surgery, the body is released to the funeral service.
The donation may add a few hours to the process but should not
delay funeral plans.
Is
donation against my religious beliefs?
Most major religions support donation as an act of human kindness in
keeping with religious teachings. People
are often unaware of the attitudes of their faith toward donation; they
may be mislead by old superstitions or misreadings of religious texts. Click here for a detailed list of religious views on
donation. You may also wish
to discuss any questions about donation with a clergy member or spiritual
advisor.
How
are patients needing organs identified to the recovery team?
All 50 states have patients needing an organ transplant listed on a
national computer system. This
national network provides 24 hour access to the list of patients awaiting
lifesaving transplants.
How
long must a patient wait for a transplant?
The time a patient spends on the waiting list for an organ transplant 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.
Can
organs/tissues be transplanted between sexes and races?
Yes. The determining
factors in identifying a possible recipient are the matching of blood type
and body size between the donor and the recipient.
There is no matching required for tissue transplants.
Will
my family have to pay if I am a donor?
No. Donation is a
gift; it costs the donor family nothing.
All the costs associated with the recovery of donated organs and
tissues are charged to the donor program, then passed on to the transplant
center which bills the recipient and his or her insurer.
These costs account for only about 12% of the transplant
recipient's total bill. Most
of the expense is generated by the transplant procedures: hospital costs,
surgeons' and doctors' fees, medication and aftercare. The
donor's family is responsible for the costs of medical treatment prior
to death and for funeral expenses, just as they would be if there were no
donation.
Isn't
it cruel to talk to a grieving family about donation?
A number of in-depth studies of families who have donated organs and
tissues clearly show that donation can provide immediate comfort and
long-lasting consolation. Even
families that decide not to donate report they appreciated the opportunity
to choose. Studies also indicate that families may experience anger and
frustration if they are not given information about donation.
Donation tends to give families a sense that something positive has
resulted from an otherwise tragic loss -- especially when the donor is
young and death is unexpected. Donation will not lessen a family‚s grief, but it can be a
tangible tribute to the individual they have lost.
Can
I sell my organs?
No. It is a federal
crime, under the National Organ Transplant Act (Public Law 98-507) to sell
organs. The punishment for
violating the law is a fine up to $50,000 and/or a maximum of five years
imprisonment. Publicity about
people raising money for transplants can create the false impression that
they are trying to buy organs. In
fact, these are usually uninsured patients and their families who are
seeking funds to meet the financial requirements of the transplant
program.
Do
celebrities and rich people receive priority in receiving organs?
No. Factors such as
race, gender, age, income or celebrity status are never considered when
determining who receives an organ. The
organ allocation and distribution system is based on many factors
including blood type, length of time on the waiting list, severity of
illness and other medical criteria. There
is no way to buy a place on the waiting list.
Will
the body try to reject the new organ?
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.
Will
the identity of the recipients be revealed to the donor family?
Occasionally a donor family will correspond directly with or even meet
an individual transplanted with their loved one's organ or tissue, but
only after both parties have expressed written intention to do so. Typically the identity of the donor and the recipients are
kept confidential. UNYTS
provides the donor's family with basic information about the recipients
such as age, sex, profession and general location.
The donor families and transplant recipients may correspond
anonymously through the procurement organization and transplant center.