Organ donation is the decision to save lives after your death by pledging to give your organs to someone who needs a transplant. The generosity of donors and their families enables nearly 3,000 people in the UK every year to take on a new lease of life.
Every year hundreds of people die while waiting for an organ transplant and many others lose their lives before they even get on to the transplant list. There is a serious shortage of organs and the gap between the number of organs donated and the number of people waiting for a transplant is increasing.
Many people have not recorded their wishes about donation or discussed it with their families. Too few people have joined the NHS Organ Donor Register and made sure that their families know their wishes.
The NHS Organ Donor Register is, quite literally, a life-saver. It is a confidential, computerised database which holds the wishes of more than 15.7 million people who have decided that, after their death, they want to leave a legacy of life for others. The register is used to help establish whether a person wanted to donate and, if so, what organs.
Anyone! Anyone of any age, sex, race, and religion. All the major UK religions support Organ Donation. .There is no minimum age to be on the organ donor register and the oldest donor so far in the UK was over 80 years old. Even having a long-term illness or being on medication does not prevent you from becoming an organ donor.
No. The doctors looking after a patient have to make every possible effort to save the patient's life. That is their first duty. If, despite their efforts, the patient dies, organ and tissue donation can then be considered and a completely different team of donation and transplant specialists would be called in.
Organs are only removed for transplantation after a person has died. Death is confirmed by two doctors who are entirely independent of the transplant team. Death is confirmed in exactly the same way for people who donate organs as for those who do not.
Organs and tissue are always removed with the greatest of care and respect for the person. This takes place in a normal operating theatre under the usual conditions. Afterwards the surgical incision is carefully closed and covered by a dressing in the normal way.
Tissue can be removed in an operating theatre, mortuary or funeral home. The operation is carried out by specialist healthcare professionals who always ensure that the donor is treated with the utmost respect and dignity. Only those organs and tissue specified by the donor or their family will be removed. Families are given the opportunity to spend time with their loved one after the operation if they wish and this is facilitated by the transplant coordinator. Arrangements for viewing the body after donation are the same as after any death.