Frequently
Asked Questions
Q:
Who
can become a donor?
Q:
Are there age limits for donors?
Q:
How do I express my wishes to become an organ and tissue donor?
Q:
If I sign a donor card, or indicate my donation preferences
on my drivers license, will my wishes be carried out?
Q:
What organs and tissues can I donate?
Q:
If I sign a donor card, will it affect the quality of medical
care I receive at the hospital?
Q:
Will donation disfigure my body? Can there be an open casket
funeral?
Q:
Why should minorities be particularly concerned about organ
donation?
Q:
Are there any costs to my family for donation?
Q:
Can I sell my organs?
Q:
How are organs distributed?
Q: How many
people are currently wait listed for each organ so they can have
a transplant?
Q:
Can I be an organ and tissue donor and also donate my body
to medical science?
Q:
Can non-resident aliens donate and receive organs?
Q: If I have a previous medical condition, can I still donate?
Who
can become a donor?
All individuals can indicate their intent to donate (persons under
18 years of age must have parent's or guardian's consent). Medical
suitability for donation is determined at the time of death.
Are
there age limits for donors?
There are no age limitations on who can donate. The deciding factor
on whether a person can donate is the persons physical condition,
not the persons age. Newborns as well as senior citizens
have been organ donors. Persons younger than 18 years of age must
have a parent's or guardian's consent.
How
do I express my wishes to become an organ and tissue donor?
- Indicate
your intent to be an organ and tissue donor on your drivers
license.
- Carry an
organ donor card.
- Most important,
discuss your decision with family members and loved
ones.
If
I sign a donor card or indicate my donation preferences on my
drivers license, will my wishes be carried out?
Even if you sign a donor card it is essential that your family
know your wishes. Your family may be asked to sign a consent form
in order for your donation to occur.
If you wish to learn how organ donation preferences are documented
and honored where you live, contact your local organ procurement
organization (OPO). The OPO can advise you of specific local
procedures, such as joining donor registries, that are available
to residents in your area.
What
can be donated?
If I sign a donor card, will it affect the quality of medical
care I receive at the hospital?
No! Every effort is made to save your life before donation is
considered.
Will
donation disfigure my body? Can there be an open casket funeral?
Donation does not disfigure the body and does not interfere with
having a funeral, including open casket services.
Why
should minorities be particularly concerned about organ donation?
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. Therefore, a shortage
of organs donated by minorities can contribute to death and longer
waiting periods for transplants for minorities.
More
information on Minorities and Organ Donation and Transplantation:
Are
there any costs to my family for donation?
The donors 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.
Can
I sell my organs?
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.
How
are organs distributed?
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.
How
many people are currently waiting for each organ to become available
so they can have a transplant?
The number
of people requiring a life-saving transplant continues to rise
faster than the number of available donors. Approximately 300
new transplant candidates are added to the waiting list each month.
For the number of patients now on the waiting list and other data,
please go to the Organ Procurement
and Transplantation Network Web site.
Can
I be an organ and tissue donor and also donate my body to medical
science?
Total body
donation is an option, but not if you choose to be an organ and
tissue donor. If you wish to donate your entire body, you should
directly contact the facility of your choice to make arrangements.
Medical schools, research facilities and other agencies need to
study bodies to gain greater understanding of disease mechanisms
in humans. This research is vital to saving and improving lives.
Can
non-resident aliens donate and receive organs?
Non-resident aliens can both donate and receive organs in the United
States. In 2001, 334 (2.7%) of the 12,375 organ donors were non-resident
aliens. In this same year, 259 (1%) of the 23,998 transplants performed
were on non-resident aliens.
Organs are allocated according to medical need and not according
to citizenship of the patient. Organ allocation is based on the
principles of equity and medical utility with the concept of justice
applied to both access (consideration), as well as allocation (distribution).
Policies developed by the Organ Procurement and Transplantation
Network (OPTN) allow up to 5% of recipients at a transplant center
to be from other countries.
From 1988 2002, 278,504 transplants were performed in the U.S. Of
that total, only 2,728 were performed on non resident aliens, which
represent less than 1% of the total transplants performed.
If I have a previous medical condition, can
I still donate?
Regardless of any pre-existing medical circumstances or conditions,
determination of suitability to donate organs or tissue may be
based on a combination of factors that take into account the
donor's general health and the urgency of need of the recipient.
This determination is usually done by the medical staff that
recovers the organs or by the transplant team that reviews all
of the data about the organ(s) or tissue that have been recovered
from the donor.
We recommend that all individuals consider themselves potential
organ and tissue donors, indicate their intent to donate by signing
a donor card, and discuss their decision with family members.
Transplant professionals will evaluate potential donors and determine
suitability for donation of particular organs or tissue when
the time for donation arises.
If you desire additional information on organ donation and transplantation,
please contact the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the
current contractor for the nation's Organ Procurement and Transplantation
Network (OPTN), at 1-888-TXINFO-1 or visit their Web site at:
www.unos.org. The OPTN Web site also provides transplant and
donor information at: www.optn.org . If you would like to learn
more about any type of disease condition or illness, you may
visit the National Institutes for Health web site at: www.nih.gov.
|