Of Organ Donors And Recipients

Where do organs for transplantation come from? Live and deceased patients can become donors. The type of donor depends on the organ that the recipient needs. The heart can only be obtained from a deceased donor, but many other organs, as well as some types of tissues, can be donated in life. 

Deceased donors

Organs can be obtained from dead donors, but these deceased patients need to comply with certain characteristics in order to be eligible for organ donation, so in the end, very few dead organ donors actually become one.

These patients are considered to be clinically and legally dead, but their body can be kept functioning with the aid of mechanical ventilation and medication.  This helps in the process of organ donation, because since the heart is still beating and pumping blood, all organs are kept in optimal conditions.

It is possible however, to obtain certain tissues from these patients, such as bone, skin and corneas. 

In order to become a donor, you can get an organ and tissue donor card, which states your wish to become a donor in case of death. You also have to notify your family about your decision, so they know what to do in such case. In the U.S., each state has a donor registry, where people can register to become donors in case of death.

Becoming a living donor

Living donation is an alternative that patients have when the supply of organs from dead donors is not enough to cover the transplantation needs. Not all organs can be donated in life, though.

Donors are very often related to the patient, but living transplants can also be performed with an organ from a non-related person that is compatible with the patient. Sometimes the patient knows the donor; others, the organ comes from a voluntary unknown donor, and there is also the case where the related donor is not compatible with the patient, so the donation is still performed for a different recipient and the patient is matched with a compatible organ, from an unknown donor. This last type of living donation is known as paired-donation.

See Also: A Successful, World's-First Double Leg Transplant

The process to become a living donor is quite strict, but all regulations are aimed to ensure that both the donor and the recipient are as safe as possible before, during and after the procedure.

If you are interested in becoming a donor, there are many organizations worldwide that give information on how to become one. it is very important that you know exactly what becoming a donor means and that you let your family know about this life decision.