University of Michigan Students for Organ Donation

FAQ/Information

How are organs and tissues for transplantation obtained?
Many organs and all tissues are donated by deceased donors—most often a person who has been declared brain dead. A kidney, parts of some other organs, and bone marrow can be transplanted from living individuals—relatives or friends of the recipient or people who choose to be anonymous donors.

Is brain death the same as being in a coma? I have heard that people can recover from a coma. Can people recover from brain death?
A coma and brain death are completely different. A person in a coma still has brain activity and is alive. The person may recover from a coma and possibly regain normal brain function. People who are brain dead have no brain activity. They are dead. Their brain can never recover, but the rest of their body may be kept functioning for a short time by a mechanical support system.

Is there an age limitation on whose organs can be transplanted?
There are no age limitations on who can donate. Both newborns and senior citizens have been donors. Physical condition, not a person’s age, determines suitability to be a donor. Because of disease or other problems, some people wishing to donate may be ruled medically unsuitable. This determination is best made by transplant specialists at the time someone wishing to be a donor has died.

If I am in an accident, and the doctors know I wish to be a donor, will they still do everything possible to try to save my life?
Yes. Doctors always try everything possible to save a life. In fact, the medical personnel treating an accident victim are not the same as the medical personnel involved in organ donation and transplantation. Organ donation becomes a consideration—and the local organ procurement organization (OPO) is contacted—only when all life-saving efforts have been exhausted.

What is an OPO?
An OPO is a Federally designated nonprofit organization responsible for coordinating organ donation and transplantation in a specific geographic area. There are currently 59 OPOs serving the United States and Puerto Rico. In addition to identifying potential donors and obtaining consent where necessary, the OPOs are responsible for the evaluation, preservation, allocation, recovery, and transport of donated organs.

Can anyone declare intent to become an organ or tissue donor?
Anyone can express a wish to become a donor by joining a donor registry, signing a donor card, or indicating intent to donate on a driver’s license application. A family may decide to donate the organs of a deceased loved one who has not indicated a choice about donation or who is under age —a child, for example.

A minor usually has to take additional steps to declare his or her decision to be a donor. While requirements vary from State to State, most States require the written consent of the minor’s parent or guardian. Many States will only honor the decision of minors over a certain age (for example, minors over the age of 16). Most States consider an 18-year-old to be an adult with respect to the decision to donate; however, this also varies by State. Your local OPO is the best source of information on the requirements in your State.

How do I indicate my wish to be a donor?
You may designate yourself as a donor when you apply for or renew a driver’s license or by signing a donor card or joining a donor registry where available. Your local OPO can tell you how to document your donation intentions in your area or State.

What is a donor registry and how do I know whether there is one where I live?
A donor registry is a computerized database of people who wish to be donors when they die. The importance of a registry is that donation intentions can be quickly retrieved 24 hours a day/7 days a week, whereas a donor card or driver’s license may not always be available when someone dies. A registry, therefore, provides a reliable way of conveying donation wishes. Donor registries are available in over 20 States. Most, although not all, State registries are operated by divisions of motor vehicles. Ways of joining a registry might include the following: donor card, driver’s license, on-line or telephone access, or at public events such as health fairs. Donor registries also provide easy access for people who want to remove their donor designation or place restrictions of the type of organs or tissues they wish to donate. Your local OPO can tell you whether your State or area has a donor registry and how you can join.

Are families of individuals who have just died but who had not declared an intention to be a donor given the option of donating their loved one’s organs and tissues?
Yes. Federal law requires hospitals to report all deaths and imminent deaths to the local OPO. Each OPO works with hospitals in its area to coordinate identification, evaluation, removal, and transport of donated organs. This notification from the hospital allows OPO personnel to determine whether a person who has died is medically suitable to be a donor and to approach family members of potential donors to offer them the option of donatinh their loved one’s organs and tissues.

Can my family be paid for my organs?
No. Organ donation is considered an act of charity by the donor and/or the donor’s family, and buying or selling human organs is against Federal law.

If I have already decided to be a donor, will my family still get to decide whether my organs will be donated?
In many States, families are asked to provide consent for donation even if the deceased person had indicated an intention to be a donor. Although the decision of a deceased person to designate him or herself as a donor—through a donor card, driver’s license, or donor registry—is sufficient consent in all States to allow the donor’s organs and tissues to be donated without asking for the family’s consent, OPOs in most States ask the donor’s family to consent to the donation before proceeding. However, an increasing number of States are passing laws that provide that OPOs must honor the decision of a deceased person to designate him or herself as a donor.

This concept is often popularly referred to as “first person consent” and is based on the belief that the donor’s wishes should be paramount and not be overridden by his or her family after the person’s death. If the deceased person had not designated him or herself as a donor, the family is asked to make the decision whether to donate. (Generally, even if a deceased minor had indicated an intention to be a donor, the family is asked to consent to the donation.) In first person consent situations, OPO coordinators take great care to talk to the family before the removal of organs to make sure that the family understands and appreciates the donor’s desire to save the lives of other people through organ donation.

Does organ donation preclude an open-casket funeral?
No. People who donate organs and tissues can have an open-casket funeral. The surgeons who remove the organs and tissues handle the body in a sensitive way, as they would in any surgery.

Do any religions oppose organ or tissue donation?
Most major religions or religious organizations either actively support organ and tissue donation or leave the decision up to the individual. (See Religious Views on Donation.) Those in doubt about their religion’s views should talk with their faith leaders.

If I need an organ in order to live, will I be able to get one?
Maybe. Many people who need transplants cannot obtain them because of a shortage of donated organs. There are many more people on the waiting list than there are available organs. As of early-2004, there were nearly 84,000 people on the national waiting list. Every day, an average of 18 people on the list die waiting for a compatible organ, while an average of 68 receive a life-saving organ transplant.

If my organs are donated, who decides who receives them?
A nonprofit organization under a contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services operates a computerized national waiting list of people who need a life-saving organ transplant. This system matches each wait-listed patient against a donated organ to see which patient is the best match based on factors such as body size, weight, and blood type of the donor and recipient, how sick the patient is, how long the patient has been waiting for a transplant, and where they live in relation to the donor.

Can celebrities or rich or well-connected people jump over others on the waiting list or pay people for their organs?
No. In the U.S., the allocation of organs to recipients on the waiting list is based solely on medical and scientific criteria, and on waiting time. The principles of organ allocation are based on equity, urgency, and efficacy—the wealth, age, race, or gender of a person on the waiting list has no effect on when a person will receive a donated organ. In addition, the National Organ Transplant Act of 1984 makes it illegal to buy or sell human organs in the U.S.

If I become a donor, will all my organs and tissues be donated?
You may specify the organs and tissues you wish to donate. Your wishes will be followed. However, if any of your organs are diseased or injured, those organs will not be donated.

I have a history of illness. Are my organs and tissues likely to be of any use to anyone?
At the time of death, OPO personnel will review your medical history and decide whether your organs are suitable for donation. Advances in transplantation and medicines have allowed more people than ever to become donors.

Why is there a disproportionately large number of minority patients on the waiting list?
Minorities are disproportionately represented on the waiting list because certain minority groups are more likely to suffer from diseases that may result in organ failure and require a life-saving organ transplant.

Is there a cost associated with being a donor?
There is no cost to the donor’s family or a deceased donor’s estate. All costs of removal and preservation of the donated organs are borne by OPOs and are usually passed on to the transplant center and the recipient’s insurance company. However, medical costs incurred while attempting to save the life of a potential donor are the responsibility of the donor’s insurance company or the donor’s family. Costs incurred after a person is determined to be a donor become the responsibility of the OPO.

If I don’t have adequate health insurance, can I still be placed on the waiting list?
Given the scarcity of donor organs, transplant surgeons are concerned about transplanting patients who do not have the financial resources to pay for the transplant procedure and follow-up care needed to maintain the organ. In some cases, you might not be placed on the waiting list. However, transplant centers have social workers and financial counselors who work with people being evaluated for a transplant to help them find the necessary financial resources.

Why do I need to tell my family of my decision if I have already recorded my wish to become a donor?
In the event of your death, documentation of your wish to become a donor will increase the chance that you will be a donor. If your family is asked for consent, telling them about your decision to be a donor is the best way to ensure that your wishes are carried out. The death of a loved one is a very difficult time for a family, and knowing the wishes of the deceased makes it easier for them to decide about or accept donation.


The information in this section comes from Decision: Donation, a program developed by the US Department of Health and Human Services to integrate the topic of organ and tissue donation in existing school curriculums. You can view the online version of the full curriculum at www.organdonor.gov/student.

Copyright 2007 © Students for Organ Donation, University of Michigan Chapter
Last Updated 12:50:53 PM Wednesday February 27, 2008