Organ plus tissue donation is acknowledged as the mechanism of taking out organs and tissues from someone’s body who has either died recently or a living donor so that they can get transplanted to a living beneficiary. This mechanism is fulfilled in a couple of surgical procedures; the transplant and the harvesting. Commonly, organ donation can be accomplished only after the death of clinical brain and it is identified as the permanent damage of brain functions. Again, tissue donation can happen after either cardiac or brain death. This is defined as the irreparable damage of cardiovascular function. Anyone can turn into a donor irrespective of his gender, age, and race.
However, the determination must be made according to the person’s social and medical history, meaning whether the organs and tissues are perfect for transplantation and harvesting. The demand for healthy organs and tissues exceeds the number of donors from all over the world. There are many receivers on the waiting lists of organ donation. In the US, there are more than 100,000 people who are on the wait lists and only a third of these patients are sluggish and they find difficulty in receiving a donation. Organ & Tissue Donor Network, Gift of Hope makes thousands of hopeless people remain hopeful regarding lifesaving organs plus life-improving tissue transplants.
The characteristics of a donor
Every person can consider himself as an organ donor and no one is too young or too old to turn into a donor. Even if you are suffering from any health condition or illness, you can donate your organs as well as tissues upon your death. Your doctors will be able to examine your organs to determine whether they are perfect for the purpose of donation. Now, if you happen to be a patient with systemic infection or active cancer then you can’t turn out to be a donor. In fact, newborns plus senior citizens who have attained the age of 90 years do donate their organs and tissues.
In the case of donation, the condition of your organs does matter more compared to your age. Though most of the donations come from dead donors, some organs, like lung, liver, intestine, pancreas, kidney, and some tissues could be donated by live donors. Most of the living donors donate a kidney. Everyone should come forward to register their name as donors so that more lives can be saved. Every person who is aged 18 years or more can register for being an eye, organ, and tissue donor. Again, in many states, people who are younger than 18 years also register their name.
The process of choosing a recipient
People who are in need of transplants are matched to the organs grounded on many factors that include:
- Height
- Weight
- Blood group
- Medical urgency, meaning sickest people are treated first
- How long a person has been there on the wait list
- The distance between the donor plus the potential recipient
All the aforementioned information is hugely helpful in helping medical specialists decide on the recipient who is best suited for the organ which is available. An Organ & Tissue Donor Network works to save plus improve the lives of countless people via organ and tissue donation.