Organ Donation 101: Top 10 Most Intriguing Questions About Organ And Blood Donation Answered

Organ donation is — quite literally — the gift that keeps on giving. Over a 110,000 people, both children and adults, are currently waiting for donor organs to save their lives or greatly improve their quality of life in the United States alone. Someone's added to the transplant waiting list every 10 minutes.

One day, that could be you. 

Public awareness campaigns in the US have focused so heavily on "giving the gift of life" that many people forget that organ donation isn't all about altruism — for every donor, a maximum of eight different people don't give, but receive. This is, in fact, one of the greatest obstacles to organ donation today. Most of the others also have a lot to do with a lack of awareness and understanding, so today, we'll be taking a lot at some of the most intriguing questions people ask about organ donation — and answer them honestly. 

1. When did the first organ transplant take place? What about the first blood transfusion?

Scientists (actually mainly one, the English doctor Dr William Harvey) discovered that the heart pumps blood around the human body in 1616. Less than a century later, in 1665, another brave pioneer, Dr Richard Lower, performed the first-ever blood transfusion — a procedure in which blood or blood products are taken from one subject, and transferred to another. This first transfusion took place between two dogs. The first human blood transfusion didn't happen until 1818, and blood groups weren't discovered until 1901, and advances have continuously been made since then. For instance, to be a blood donor today, you have to have a full health check to make sure you aren't transferring any contagious diseases to a recipient. 

2. How are recipients matched with donors?

Organ donors and their recipients have to match as closely as possible. They must share the same blood type or a compatible blood type (for instance, people with type A blood can donate to those with AB as well, and type O donors can donate to all other blood types). They also have to share the same tissue type of HLA type, the HLA antibody percentage will be tested, and the recipient has to pass a serum crossmatch. 

Despite this, donor organs will never be the same as original organs — and there's no denying the fact that they're foreign bodies. Organ recipients have to take powerful anti-rejection drugs for the rest of their lives. 

3. Can LGBT+ people donate blood and organs now?

Yes. The discrimination that followed the onset of the AIDS epidemic has finally come to an end in most modern nations now, including the US. LGBT+ people can donate organs and receive donor organs. People living with HIV can become organ donors too, in certain circumstances. While we're on the subjects, tattoos don't stop you from donating blood or organs anymore, either. 

Donor organs do have to meet certain criteria, which make them viable for the right recipient, but there's no discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, race, or socioeconomic status any in the US today — which is just as well, because there's already an organ shortage! If you belong to a minority group, you are especially encouraged to become a donor, because you'll be able to help someone (or multiple people) who are urgently in need of a donor. African Americans are the largest group on the waiting list, and more Black donors are greatly needed, for instance. 

4. Do race and ethnicity play a role in organ donation?

You might wonder why more Black donors would mean that more Black folks waiting for organs would get them. That's because organ donations are more likely to be successful, meaning the recipient's body doesn't reject the organ, if they share a similar racial background. This is exactly why it's so important for minority ethnic groups to become donors!

5. Do you have to be dead to donate an organ to a stranger?

You might know that there's such a thing as living organ donation, which typically involves offering a kidney or part of your liver (which, yes, does grow back, by the way) to a close relative. If you're especially altruistic, you can sign up for a non-directed kidney or liver donation, meaning your donation will benefit someone you have never met and whose name you won't know. 

There are also less invasive types of living donation, however. You can give blood, of course, but you can also donate birth tissues (amniotic fluid, placenta, etc) if you've just given birth, and you won't even have to suffer any extra pain when you do this. 

6. Is organ transplantation rare?

Nope. Organ transplants have become a routine and well-practiced procedure today. Over 39,000 organ transplants are performed every year. 

7. I'm cool with donating my internal organs, but I want to keep my eyes and my skin. Is that OK?

Yes. If you feel strongly about looking "put together" after your death, so your relatives can say good bye to an open casket, it's good to know that you're fully in charge of the process. When you become a donor, you decide what you're OK with donating — and should you die, medical professionals assess which of those organs are viable for donation. 

8. Face transplants? That's really possible now?

Face transplants are incredibly complex, but possible. People with disfiguring medical conditions or injuries can benefit from face transplants, and they won't just "walk around with someone else's face" for the simple reason that they retain their underlying bone structure, which does affect the end result. Over 47 successful face transplants have been carried out so far. 

(In cases you were wondering, yes, penis transplants are also possible.)

9. How does COVID-19 affect organ donation?

The organ shortage has increased since COVID-19 made its appearance, for the simple reason that healthcare systems worldwide have been so focused on the pandemic, and people do not want to subject themselves to additional risks. When a decreased donor has tested positive for COVID, their organs cannot be donated, unfortunately. 

10. What exciting scientific advances will still be made in organ donation?

Currently, the use of stem cells as an anti-rejection therapy is very interesting. This could potentially save recipients from having to take strong anti-rejection medications, which do have side effects, in future. Serious research has already looked into the possibility of head transplants — in which the fully-functional brains of paralyses or very severely injured people would be transplanted to the functional bodies of brain dead people. It may happen in your life time.