Organ donation is where a person offers their organs for transplant. Their organs are given to someone who has damaged organs that need to be replaced.
An organ transplant may save a person’s life, or it may significantly improve their health and quality of life.
The need for donors
In 2009, 3,700 organ transplants were carried out in the UK. However, there are always significantly more people waiting to have an organ transplant than there are suitable donors. For example, at the end of March 2010, 8,000 people were waiting for an organ transplant.
Read more about the waiting times for a transplant on the NHS Blood and Transplant website.
There is a particular need for more people of African, African-Caribbean and south Asian ethnicities to join the Organ Donor Register. This is because donation rates among these ethnic groups are low.
Black people are three times more likely to develop kidney failure than the general population, and the need for donated organs in Asian communities is three to four times higher than it is in the general population.
Most people who are waiting for a donated organ need to have a kidney, heart, lung or liver transplant. One donor can help several people. This is because a single donor is able to donate a number of organs, including:
- kidneys
- liver
- heart
- lungs
- small bowel
- pancreas
Tissues that can be donated include:
- the cornea (the transparent layer at the front of the eye)
- bone
- skin
- heart valves
- tendons
- cartilage
All donors have the choice of which organs and tissues they wish to donate. See Organ donation - when it is used for more information.
How to donate
The NHS Organ Donor Register is a national, confidential database that holds the details of more than 17 million people who want to donate their organs after their death. The register can be accessed by healthcare professionals to find out whether an individual has registered to be an organ donor.
By adding your name to the NHS Organ Donor Register, everyone will be aware of your wishes, making it easier for them to agree to your donation. You can join the register in a number of ways, including:
- by completing an online form
- by calling the NHS Donor Line on 0300 123 23 23
See Organ donation - how it works for more details about how you can join the NHS Organ Donor Register.
Even though there is a significant number of people on the register, most people will not die in circumstances that will allow them to donate their organs. It is, therefore, important that as many people as possible join the register.
Your relatives cannot overrule your decision to donate your organs. However, it is important that you tell them about your decision while you are alive. This will make your family and NHS staff aware of your wishes regarding potential organ donation after your death.
Checking for a match
When an organ becomes available for donation, it is checked to make sure that it is healthy. The blood and tissue type of both donor and recipient are also checked to ensure that they are compatible. The better the match, the greater the chance of a successful outcome.
People from the same ethnic group are more likely to be a close match. Those with rare tissue types may only be able to accept an organ from someone of the same ethnic origin. This is why it is so important that people from all ethnic backgrounds register to donate their organs.
Types of donation
There are three different ways of donating an organ. These are known as:
- donation after brain stem death
- donation after cardiac death
- live organ donation
The different types of donation are described below.
Donation after brain stem death
Most organ donations are from brain stem dead donors. This is where the donor has been diagnosed with brain stem death following a severe brain injury, and the circulation continues to be supported by artificial ventilation until the donated organs have been removed.
Heartbeating donations have a high success rate because the organs are supported by oxygenated blood until they are removed from the body of the donor.
Donation after cardiac death
Organs and tissue can also be donated from non-heartbeating donors. In the UK, almost all donors of this type are people who have died in intensive care from severe brain injuries, but who are not quite brain stem dead.
In such cases, the donation must occur within a few minutes of the heart stopping because, otherwise, the organs will be damaged by the lack of oxygenated blood and it will not be possible for them to be transplanted.
Live organ donation
A live organ donation usually involves one family member donating an organ to another family member. The relative is usually blood-related, most commonly a parent, although it could be a spouse (partner).
Following changes in the law, it is now possible to be an altruistic donor. Altruistic donors are unrelated to the patient but become donors as an act of personal generosity.
Kidney donations are often made from living donors as a healthy person can lead a normal life with only one working kidney.