Basics

No age limits. Under 18 requires parent or guardian consent. If no consent is given, organs will not be donated. To donate, indicate on driver’s license and carry a donor card. Assure family members know desire to be an organ donor.

Donation does not disfigure body or interfere with funeral All costs pain by recipient’s insurance. Selling organs is illegal.

Organs:Tissues: HeartCornea Kidneys Skin Pancreas Bone Marrow LungsHeart Valves LiverConnective Tissue Intestines

Patients on list are matched by criteria: Blood and tissue typing Medical urgency Time on the waiting list Geographical location

National Marrow Donor Program(NMDP) The organ Procurement and Transplant Network (OPTN) The Scientific registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR)

Coordinate Activities Related to Organ Procurement Evaluate potential donors Discuss donation with family members Arrange for surgical removal of donated organs

OPO’s are also responsible for preserving organs and arranging for their distribution according to national organ sharing policies Currently there are 59 organ procurement organizations operating throughout the US and Puerto Rico

Organ Donations from Prisoners/Convicted Criminals Ethics of Presumed Consent Organs are removed and transplanted even without a donor card

Preferred Status for organ donors Financial Incentives for organ donation Disadvantages for Low Income Members of Society Under No Circumstances can organs be sold in the US Assessment for Transplant Candidacy

Determined by the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Generated by a computer program from the national waiting list Based on the following criteria Body size Blood type Time waiting Medical urgency and stability Closeness of Donor and potential Recipient Race-people are genetically more similar to own race