You may need an organ transplant if one of your organs has failed. This can happen because of illness or injury. When you have an organ transplant, doctors remove an organ from another person and place it in your body. The organ may come from a living donor or a donor who has died.

The organs that can be transplanted include

• Heart
• Intestine
• Kidney
• Liver
• Lung
• Pancreas

You often have to wait a long time for an organ transplant. Doctors must match donors to recipients to reduce the risk of transplant rejection. Rejection happens when your immune system attacks the new organ. If you have a transplant, you must take drugs the rest of your life to help keep your body from rejecting the new organ.

Organ donation takes healthy organs and tissues from one person for transplantation into another. Experts say that the organs from one donor can save or help as many as 50 people. Organs you can donate include

• Internal organs: Kidneys, heart, liver, pancreas, intestines, lungs
• Skin
• Bone and bone marrow
• Cornea

Most organ and tissue donations occur after the donor has died. But some organs and tissues can be donated while the donor is alive.

People of all ages and background can be organ donors. If you are under age 18, your parent or guardian must give you permission to become a donor. If you are 18 or older you can show you want to be a donor by signing a donor card. You should also let your family know your wishes.

When you die, you can give an organ—or part of an organ—to someone in need. You can improve and save lives.

How to Register as a Donor

First, decide to donate your organs, eyes, or tissues. Next, register as a donor in your state. Signing up doesn't mean you will be able to donate your organs, eyes, or tissues. Registering usually takes place many years before donation becomes possible. But it is the first step to being eligible to save lives.

Medical Care Provided to Potential Donors

Doctors treat all patients the same. The medical team will do everything possible to save your life. A doctor may put you on life support. This keeps blood flowing to the organs.

Doctors Test for Brain Death

Doctors run tests to find out if there’s brain death. A patient with brain death has no brain activity, can’t breathe on their own and can’t recover.

Doctors confirm brain death and note the time of death. Then organ donation is possible.

The Organ Procurement Organization

If you’re near death or die, the hospital tells the local Organ Procurement Organization (OPO). This follows federal rules. The hospital will tell the OPO about you. The OPO decides if you’re a possible donor. If so, someone from the OPO travels to the hospital.

Authorizing Donation

The OPO needs your legal consent. They’ll review your state’s registry. If you’re in it, that’s legal consent for donation. If you’re not, they may check your driver’s license, or another legal form. The OPO may ask your closest blood relative (next of kin) for approval.

Once they have approval, they do a medical evaluation. This is your complete medical and social history. They get this from your family.

How Donors Are Matched to Recipients

If the evaluation allows you to donate, the OPO contacts the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN).

The OPTN is a national database. It has all patients in the U.S. waiting for a transplant. The OPO enters information about a donor into the system and the search begins.

The system creates a list of patients who match the donor (by organ). The system offers each available organ to the transplant team of the best-matched patient.

The transplant surgeon makes the final decision. They decide whether the organ is good for their patient. They may refuse the organ if their patient is too sick or they can’t reach them in time.

Most organs go to patients in the area where doctors recovered the organs. Other organs may go to patients in other parts of the country.

What Happens When Doctors Remove and Transplant Organs

Doctors will keep your organs on artificial support. Machines keep oxygen going to the organs. The medical team and OPO official will check the condition of each organ.

A transplant surgical team will replace the medical team that treated the donor before they died. (The medical team trying to save your life and the transplant team are never the same.)

The surgical team will remove the donor’s organs and tissues. They remove the organs, then they remove approved tissues such as bone, cornea, and skin. They close all cuts. Organ donation doesn’t prevent open-casket funerals.

Organs only stay healthy for a short period of time after removal. Minutes count. The OPO official plans for the moving of the organs. The organs go to the hospitals where the patient(s) who need them are. Organs may go by ambulance, helicopter, or commercial airplane.

How Surgeons Transplant Organs

The operation takes place after the transport team arrives at the hospital with the new organ. The person getting the organ is at the hospital. They may be in the operating room waiting for the organ.

Surgical teams work to transplant the new organs into the waiting patient.

You can donate a kidney, a piece of your liver, and certain other organs and tissues while alive. About 6,500 living donation transplants take place each year.

Unlike deceased donors, a living donor can decide who to donate their organ to, helping a recipient get an organ transplant faster. Most living donations happen between family members or close friends. Other people choose to donate to someone they don't know.

Living donation is typically safe for the donor. Most living donors go on to live active, healthy lives and can see the positive impact of their donation.

Benefits of living donation

• As a living donor, you can choose who receives your organ.
• You can reduce someone’s waiting time for an organ transplant.
• Living kidney donation can prevent—or shorten—the need for kidney dialysis.
• Research has shown that recipients of organs from living donors have better outcomes than those who receive organs from deceased donors.

Organs That Can Be Donated While Alive

Kidneys are the organs most frequently needed, followed by livers. Both of these organs can be donated by living donors to save someone’s life.

You may be able to donate:

• One kidney
  85% of people awaiting a transplant need a kidney. A kidney is the most commonly donated organ. Your remaining kidney removes waste from the body.
• Segment of the liver
  Remaining liver cells grow or refresh until your liver is almost its original size. This happens in a short amount of time for both you and the recipient.
• One lobe of the lung, part of the pancreas, or part of the intestine
  These donations are rare. While these organs don’t regrow, the portion you donate and the portion that remains can function fully.

Tissue That Can Be Donated While Alive

You may be able to donate:

• Skin—after surgeries such as a tummy tuck
• Bone—after knee and hip replacements
• Healthy cells from bone marrow and umbilical cord blood
• Amnion—donated after childbirth
• Blood—white and red blood cells—and platelets

You can donate blood or bone marrow more than once. The body replaces them after you donate.

Understanding living donation

• Most living donors go on to live healthy and active lives.
• Most living donors report living donation as a positive emotional experience.
• Living donors tend to have similar or better quality of life than before the donation.

Who can be a living doner?

Parents, husbands, wives, friends, co-workers—even total strangers—can be living donor candidates.

To be a living donor, you must:

• Be at least 18 or older (some transplant hospitals require donors to be at least 21)
• Have good physical and mental health
• Know the risks and benefits of living donation
• Make an informed decision that living donation is right for you

What should I think about before I donate?

• Recovery from surgery takes time, and donors may have to take off work and stop certain activities for a while.
• Living donors do not have to pay for medical costs because the recipient’s insurance usually covers expenses.
• You may experience medical problems that delay your return to work.
• You may face lost wages from being out of work, or incur additional costs for childcare or other expenses, depending on your situation.
• Some living donors have had problems keeping insurance coverage at the same level and rate.

Potential risks of living donation

Transplant centers follow-up with living donors after the transplant. They report, on average, living donors do well over the long term.

As with most medical procedures, there are possible risks for living organ donation surgery. These risks differ depending on each individual donor as well as the type of organ donated. Short-term effects may include pain or infection from the procedure. Long-term effects can include hypertension for kidney donors, or intestinal problems for liver donors.

As more research emerges on the impact of donation on living donors, the more we can fully understand the risks and benefits to living donors.

If You Need Financial Help

The National Living Donor Assistance Center (NLDAC) provides financial help to living donors.

They may be able to help you with:

• Travel, lodging, meals, and extras
• Lost wages
• Childcare and eldercare costs related to your evaluation, surgery, and follow-up visits

Organ donation is the act of taking healthy organs and tissues from one person and giving them to someone else. Making the decision to donate your organs is one of the most generous gifts you can give.

Find answers below to commonly asked questions about what it means to be a donor and how to become one. You’ll also find a list of federal resources to help you learn more about the donation process and how to get started.

Is there an age limit to becoming an organ donor?

No: There is no age limit for donation or to sign up. In 2021, one out of every three people who donated organs was over the age of 50. You’re never too old to make a difference — as of 2021, the oldest organ donor in the United States was 92.

How can someone register to be an organ donor?

You can register to be an organ donor at the time you renew your driver’s license or state ID at your local Department of Motor Vehicles. You can also register online.

Visit organdonor.gov to select your state and follow the steps to sign up.

Is my brain included when I sign up to donate my organs?

No. It’s common for people to think that signing up to be an organ donor includes brain donation, but the purpose and the process are different. This is because brain donation is only used to advance scientific research, versus helping another person stay alive through a transplant. Depending on the circumstances of death, it may be possible to donate organs for transplant as well as the brain for scientific research.

Brain donation is important in helping researchers to better understand how different disorders, like Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, affect the brain, and how we might better treat and prevent them across different groups of people.

What happens after I sign up to be an organ donor?

After you sign up to be an organ donor, be sure to tell your family and friends. It’s important to let them know your wishes so they can honor your decision at the end of life. Also be sure to keep your information, such as a current mailing address, up to date in your state’s donor registry.

Who is responsible for determining if organs can be donated?

Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) are nonprofit organizations responsible for recovering organs from donors for transplantation in the United States. If you are near death or die, the hospital informs the local OPO. The OPO decides if you’re a possible donor based on your medical and social history.

Can I donate an organ or tissue while I’m still living?

Most donations occur after the donor has died, but it is possible to donate certain organs or tissue to someone in need while still living. Living donation has a different process than that of a deceased donor donation. To learn more about living donation, visit organdonor.gov.

Do any medical conditions exclude someone from becoming an organ donor?

Yes, some conditions such as an actively spreading cancer or infection, or heart disease, may prevent a person from becoming a donor. But you can still sign up as an organ donor regardless of any preexisting or past medical conditions. A doctor will conduct tests to determine the viability of your organs for transplant at the time of death.

Does it cost money to donate your organs?

No. The organ donor’s family is not charged for donation. Insurance or the people who receive the organ donation pay those costs. However, the donor’s family is still responsible for any costs associated with medical care at the end of life, and funeral and burial arrangements.

Can family members choose to donate their loved one’s organs after they die?

If a person is not registered to donate their organs, their family may make the decision on the dying person’s behalf to donate their organs. A member of the OPO must obtain consent from the family before organ donation. However, the family cannot override the person’s decision to donate their organs if they have registered to donate or stated it in their advance directives.

It can be challenging to think about organ donation at the end of life, both for the family and the person who is dying. Making and documenting this decision ahead of time as part of advance care planning and by registering to donate can help lessen stress during a difficult time.

Is organ donation possible if someone prefers to die at home?

In most cases, organ donation is not logistically possible when someone dies at home. Vital organs — such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, and liver — are only viable for a short time once oxygen stops flowing through the body. However, tissue and eye donation may be an option since these remain viable without oxygen for several hours.

Can a person have a viewing if they donate their organs?

Yes, it is possible to have an open casket funeral, or viewing, after organ donation. Hospital workers treat the body with care and respect during the donation process.

SEE YOUR DENTIST BEFORE TRANSPLANT

Before an organ or stem cell transplant, have a dental checkup. Your mouth should be as healthy as possible before your transplant procedure. Treating cavities, periodontal (gum) disease, and any other mouth problems ahead of time can help prevent or reduce the side effects of transplant drugs. Also, keeping your mouth clean and free of dental disease is important for your general health too.

SEE YOUR DENTIST AFTER TRANSPLANT

Make sure your dentist knows that you are a transplant patient. Give your dentist the contact information for your transplant doctor. Your dentist should speak with your transplant team before dental treatment. Together, they will work out a dental care plan that safely meets your needs. For example, they may decide that you need to take antibiotics before dental treatment, or your doctor may adjust the dosage of your transplant drugs.

Bring a list of all your drugs, including over-the-counter drugs, to every dental appointment. Remember to tell your dentist if your drugs have changed. Talk to your dentist about your general health. If you have diabetes or other health conditions, make sure your dentist knows. In the same way, tell your transplant doctor if you have mouth problems.

TELL YOUR DENTIST ABOUT MOUTH PROBLEMS

Transplant drugs suppress your immune system so that the donated organ or cells are less likely to be rejected by your body. Unfortunately, the side effects of these drugs make you more likely to develop problems in your mouth. Tell your dentist about any problems that develop in your mouth. Transplant drugs can cause many different kinds of mouth problems.

Your dentist can help you manage the mouth problems caused by transplant drugs:

• Infections: When your immune system is suppressed, you are at much greater risk of developing infections, such as yeast (thrush) or herpes simplex infections, and tooth decay. Get treatment if you experience redness, painful or sensitive areas, swelling, pus, white patches, fever, or other problems.
• Dry mouth: Not having enough saliva to keep your mouth moist can lead to tooth decay.
• Mouth ulcers: Sores in the soft lining of the mouth can make chewing, speaking, or swallowing painful.
• Enlarged gums: Gums can grow so large that they cover part of the teeth, making brushing and flossing difficult and increasing the chance of bleeding and infection.
• Mouth cancers: Some people, especially those who used tobacco, develop mouth cancer after an organ or stem cell transplant.

KEEP YOUR MOUTH HEALTHY

You can do a lot to keep your mouth healthy after your transplant procedure. Brush and floss every day. Good daily oral hygiene is vital to keeping your mouth healthy by reducing levels of harmful germs. If you have any questions about brushing and flossing, particularly if your mouth is sore after transplant, ask your dentist or dental hygienist.

Look inside your mouth every day. Check how it feels with your tongue. Side effects from transplant drugs may show up as white or red patches, sores, or ulcers. You may notice dryness in your mouth, bleeding gums when you brush, or a growth. Call your dentist if you notice any changes or problems.

As an organ transplant patient, you have new opportunities for a healthy and full life. You may also have some new health challenges. One of those challenges is avoiding infections. While anti-rejection medication helps you accept the new organ by lowering your body’s immune system response, it can also put you at greater risk for fungal infections.

What you need to know about fungal infections

Fungal infections can range from mild to life-threatening. Some fungal infections are mild skin rashes, but others can be deadly, like fungal pneumonia. Because of this, it’s important to seek treatment as soon as possible to try to avoid serious infection.

Fungal infections can look like bacterial or viral infections. If you’re taking medicine to fight a bacterial or viral infection and you aren’t getting better, ask your doctor about testing you for a fungal infection.

Fungal infections may be more common in certain types of transplants. Some experts think that fungal infections may be most common in small bowel transplant patients, followed by lung, liver, and heart transplant patients.

Where you live (geography) matters. Some disease-causing fungi are more common in certain parts of the world. If you have had an organ transplant and live in or visit these areas, you’re more likely to get these infections than the general population.

Your hospital stay matters. After your transplant, you may need to stay in the hospital for a long time. While there, you may need procedures that can increase your chance of getting a fungal infection.

Fungal infections can happen any time after your surgery. Fungal infections can happen days, weeks, months, or years after the transplant surgery.

Some types of fungal infections are more common than others in solid organ transplant patients. In the United States, invasive candidiasis is most common, followed by aspergillosis and cryptococcosis, but other types of fungal infections are also possible. For lung transplant patients, aspergillosis is most common.

Indoor mold. You may be at higher risk for getting sick from indoor mold.

Preventing fungal infections in organ transplant patients

Fungi are difficult to avoid because they are a natural part of the environment. Fungi live outdoors in soil, on plants, trees, and other vegetation. They are also on many indoor surfaces and on your skin. However, there may be some ways you to lower your chance of getting a serious fungal infection.

Learn about fungal infections. There are different types of fungal infections. Learning about them can help you and your healthcare provider recognize the symptoms early, which may prevent serious illness.

Get additional medical care if necessary. Fungal infections often resemble other illnesses. Visiting your healthcare provider may help with faster diagnosis and may prevent serious illness.

Antifungal medication. Your healthcare provider may prescribe medication to prevent fungal infections. Scientists are still learning about which transplant patients are at highest risk and how to best prevent fungal infections.

Protect yourself from the environment. As you recover from your surgery and start doing your normal activities again, there may be some ways to lower your chances of getting a serious fungal infection by trying to avoid disease-causing fungi in the environment. It’s important to note that although these actions are recommended, they have not been proven to prevent fungal infections.

• Try to avoid areas with a lot of dust like construction or excavation sites.
• Stay inside during dust storms.
• Stay away from areas with bird and bat droppings. This includes places like chicken coops and caves.
• Wear gloves when handling materials such as soil, moss, or manure.
• Wear shoes, long pants, and a long-sleeved shirt when doing outdoor activities such as gardening, yard work, or visiting wooded areas.

Xenotransplantation is any procedure that involves the transplantation, implantation or infusion into a human recipient of either (a) live cells, tissues, or organs from a nonhuman animal source, or (b) human body fluids, cells, tissues or organs that have had ex vivo contact with live nonhuman animal cells, tissues or organs. The development of xenotransplantation is, in part, driven by the fact that the demand for human organs for clinical transplantation far exceeds the supply.

Currently ten patients die each day in the United States while on the waiting list to receive lifesaving vital organ transplants. Moreover, recent evidence has suggested that transplantation of cells and tissues may be therapeutic for certain diseases such as neurodegenerative disorders and diabetes, where, again human materials are not usually available.

Although the potential benefits are considerable, the use of xenotransplantation raises concerns regarding the potential infection of recipients with both recognized and unrecognized infectious agents and the possible subsequent transmission to their close contacts and into the general human population. Of public health concern is the potential for cross-species infection by retroviruses, which may be latent and lead to disease years after infection. Moreover, new infectious agents may not be readily identifiable with current techniques.

The world of organ donation and transplantation has a language all its own. There are many terms and topics that you may not have heard of before. Get to know what it all means by scrolling down.

A

Allocation

The process of determining how organs are distributed. Allocation includes the system of policies and guidelines which ensure that organs are distributed in an equitable, ethical and medically sound manner.

Allograft

An allograft is a transplant of an organ or tissue that comes from another person of the same species.

Aneurysm

An aneurysm or aneurism is a ballooning or weakened area in the wall of a blood vessel. As it increases in size, the risk of rupture increases, which can lead to internal bleeding and death.

Anti-Rejection Medicine (immunosuppressive drugs)

Medicines that reduce or prevent the body's ability to reject a transplanted organ or tissue.

Antibody

A protein substance made by the body's immune system to attack a foreign substance, for example, a blood transfusion, virus or pregnancy. Because antibodies attack transplanted organs, transplant patients must take powerful drugs to reduce the body's attack on the transplanted organ. See anti-rejection medicine.

Antigen

A foreign substance, such as a transplanted organ or tissue, that triggers the body to reject it (destroy it.)

B

Blood Vessels

The arteries, veins, and capillaries through which blood circulates. Blood vessels can be donated and transplanted.

Bone

Dense tissue that forms the skeleton and supports the body. Bone can be donated and transplanted.

Bone Marrow

A thick liquid substance found in the body's hollow bones, such as leg, arm and hip bones. Marrow consists of cells that develop into blood cells (platelets, red blood cells, and white blood cells). Marrow for transplant is usually collected from the pelvic bone.

Brain Death

Brain death occurs when the brain is totally and irreversibly non-functional. Brain death is caused by not enough blood supply of oxygen which causes the brain cells to die.

C

Cadaveric Donors

Also called non-living or deceased donors (preferred term), are those who donate their organs or tissue after they have died.

Candidate

A patient who has been placed on the national waiting list for solid organ transplantation.

Circulatory Death

Occurs when a person's heart stops and cannot be resuscitated. Just like brain death, there is no recovery from circulatory death (also known as cardiac death).

Cold Ischemia Time

The time an organ is without blood circulation and is kept cold—from the time the organ is removed from the donor to the time it is transplanted into the recipient. In surgery, the time between the chilling of a tissue, organ, or body part after its blood supply has been reduced or cut off and the time it is warmed by having its blood supply restored. This can occur while the organ is still in the body or after it is removed from the body if the organ is to be used for transplantation.

Connective Tissue

Forms the supportive and connective structures of the body, such as tendons, ligaments cartilage, bone and fascia (the silver colored covering of muscles). Connective tissue surrounds many organs.

Cornea

The transparent outer covering of the eye's iris and pupil. Corneas can be donated and transplanted to restore sight for people with damaged corneas.

Cross-Matching

A blood test performed before a transplant to find out if the specific donor organ to be transplanted is likely to be rejected by the prospective recipient. If the test is positive, the donor and recipient are "incompatible" and the transplant is unlikely to be performed with an organ from that donor.

Cyclosporine

A medicine that suppresses the body's immune response thereby preventing organ rejection.

D

Deceased Donor

A person who has been declared dead and whose organs and/or tissues have been donated for transplantation.

Designated Requestor

Defined in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Conditions of Participation as an individual who has completed a course offered or approved by the OPO and designed in conjunction with the tissue and eye bank community in the methodology for approaching potential donor families and requesting organ donation. The interpretation of this rule allows for some degree of flexibility.

Donation

The act of giving organ(s), tissue(s), or blood to someone else without compensation.

Dialysis

A mechanical process designed to remove toxic substances from the blood, including correcting the balance of fluids and chemicals in the body and removing wastes when the kidneys are unable to do so. See hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.

Domino Transplant

Although it does not happen often, a domino transplant occurs when patient A needs lungs, but the best treatment is to give that patient a heart and lung combination. Since patient A's heart was good, it can be transplanted into patient B who needs only a heart.

Donor Designation

Documentation of an individual’s decision to donate organs, eyes, and/or tissues after death, usually designated on a driver’s license or through a State donor registry.

Donor Registries

A confidential electronic database in which individuals can enter and store their wish to be an organ and tissue donor. Most registries are for a single state, but a few serve more than one state. Most registries have enrollment capacity through the motor vehicle offices and many also have online registry portals. Because registry information is accessible on a 24/7 basis to authorized procurement personnel, it is the safest and quickest way to determine if a deceased individual wanted to be a donor.

E

End-Stage Organ Disease

A disease that leads, ultimately, to permanent, complete failure of an organ to function. Some examples are emphysema (lungs), cardiomyopathy (heart), and polycystic kidney disease (kidneys).

End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD)

The complete or almost complete failure of the kidneys to function. The kidneys can no longer remove wastes, concentrate urine, and regulate many other important body functions.

F

First Person Consent Legislation

State laws ensuring legal authority to proceed with organ procurement without consent from the family based on a legal indication of the deceased's consent for donation, such as on a driver's license or other official document.

G

Genetic Disorder

A disease or disorder related to heredity, birth or origin.

Graft

A transplanted organ or tissue.

Graft Survival

The length of time an organ functions successfully after being transplanted.

H

Heart

A muscular organ that pumps blood through the body. The heart can be donated and transplanted.

Heart Valves

Prevent the back flow or leakage of blood as it is being pumped through the chambers inside of the heart. Heart valves can be donated and transplanted.

Hemodialysis

A treatment for kidney failure in which the patient's blood is passed through a filtering membrane to remove excess fluid and wastes.

Histocompatibility

The examination or testing of antigens to determine if a donor organ will "match" and be compatible with a potential recipient's system. This routine test is often called tissue-typing and helps identify the most suitable recipient for a donated organ.

Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLA)

A genetically determined series of markers (molecules) located on human white blood cells (leukocytes) and on tissues that are inherited from both biological parents. HLA matching is important for compatibility between donor and recipient.

I

Idiopathic

Relating to an organ being damaged or destroyed by a disease or condition of unknown origin.

Immune Response

The body's natural defense against foreign objects or organisms that invade the body, such as bacteria or transplanted organs.

Immunosuppressive Drugs

Chemical agents that cause the human body not to produce antibodies that normally fight off foreign material in the body. The production of these antibodies needs to be suppressed in order to permit the acceptance of a donor organ by the recipient's body. See also Anti-Rejection Medicine.

Informed Consent

The process of reaching a voluntary agreement based on a full disclosure and full understanding of what will take place. Informed consent often refers to the process of making decisions regarding participation in research as well as undergoing medical procedures, including the decision to donate the organs of a loved one.

Intestines

The portion of the digestive tract extending from the stomach to the anus, consisting of the stomach, the upper segment (small intestine) and lower segment (large intestine.) The intestines can be donated and transplanted.

K

Kidneys

A pair of organs that maintain proper water and electrolyte balance, regulate acid-base concentration, and filter metabolic waste which is excreted as urine. Kidneys can be donated by deceased and living donors to be transplanted.

L

Ligaments

Fibrous bands or sheets that link two or more bones, cartilages, or structures together. Ligaments provide stability during rest and movement and protect against excessive movements such as hyper-extension or hyper-flexion. Ligaments can be transplanted. See Connective Tissue.

Liver

A large reddish-brown organ that secretes bile and is active in the formation of certain blood proteins and in the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. The liver, like the kidneys, assists in the removal of waste and toxins from the blood stream. The liver can be donated by deceased donors, and a liver lobe (section) can be provided by a living donor to be transplanted. The donor's liver will grow to full size, and the transplanted lobe will too.

Living Donor

A person who donates an organ or tissue while alive.

Lungs

The organs that enable breathing to take place, providing life-sustaining oxygen to the body and its organs. Air is inhaled into the lungs and oxygen in the air is exchanged for carbon dioxide that is then exhaled. The exchange happens in the blood as it circulates through the sponge-like lung tissue. The lungs can be donated and transplanted, and a lung lobe can be donated by a living donor.

Lymphocytotoxic Crossmatch Test

The lymphocytotoxic crossmatch test detects antibodies in the recipient that react with donor HLA antigens prior to transplantation. Lymphocytotoxic crossmatch tests are used primarily for transplant candidates to assess the suitability of a potential donor. A positive lymphocytotoxic crossmatch identifies antibodies responsible for hyperacute rejection of kidney grafts and is therefore a clear contraindication to transplantation.

M

Match

The degree of compatibility or likeness between a donor and a recipient.

Match Run

The list that is generated when an organ donor's information is entered into the national waiting list computer system to identify potential recipients.

Metabolic Disorder

A condition or disease related to dysfunction in the chemical processes and activities of the body (i.e., metabolism).

N

National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA)

Passed by Congress in 1984, NOTA initiated the development of a national system of organ sharing and a scientific registry to collect and report transplant data. It also outlawed the sale of human organs in the United States.

O

Organ

A part of the body, made up of various tissues, which performs a particular function. Transplantable organs are: heart, intestines, liver, lungs, kidneys, and pancreas.

Organ Donation

Giving an organ or a part of an organ to be transplanted into another person. Organ donation can occur with a deceased donor, who can give kidneys, pancreas, liver, lungs, heart, intestinal organs, and with a living donor, who can give a kidney or a portion of the liver, lung, or intestine.

Organ Preservation

Methods used to maintain the quality of organs between removal from the donor and transplantation into recipient. These methods include preservation solutions, pumps, and cold storage. Preservation times can vary from 2 to 48 hours depending on the type of organ being preserved. See Cold Ischemia Time.

Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN)

In 1984, Congress passed the National Organ Transplant Act that mandated the establishment of the OPTN and Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients. The purpose of the OPTN is to improve the effectiveness of the nation's organ procurement, donation and transplantation system by increasing the availability of and access to donor organs for patients with end-stage organ failure. The Act stipulated that the network be a nonprofit, private sector entity whose members are all U.S. transplant centers, organ procurement organizations and histocompatibility laboratories. The OPTN is administered by UNOS under contract to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Organ Procurement Organizations (OPO)

Local organizations throughout the U.S. designated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are responsible for increasing the number of registered donors in their service areas, and for coordinating the donation process when actual donors become available. OPOs evaluate potential donors, discuss donation with surviving family members, and arrange for the surgical removal and transport of donated organs. To increase donor registration, OPOs implement community outreach strategies to encourage people to sign up in their state donor registry. Find your local OPO

P

Pancreas

Long, irregularly shaped gland that lies behind the stomach. Some glands in the pancreas secrete insulin. Pancreas transplants give patients with diabetes a chance to become independent of insulin injections. In addition to insulin, the pancreas secretes digestive enzymes (into the small intestine) that aid in the digestion of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.

Peritoneal Dialysis

A process of filtering waste using the peritoneal membrane inside the abdomen. The abdomen is filled with special solutions that help remove toxins. The solutions remain in the abdomen for a time and then are drained out. This form of dialysis can be performed at home, but must be done every day.

Peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC)

Peripheral blood stem cells are the cells that make their way from the bone marrow to the circulating blood. Learn more about donating bone marrow or PBSC.

Procurement

The surgical procedure of removing an organ, corneas or other tissue(s) from a donor. See Recovery.

Procurement Coordinator

Staff member of the OPO, typically a nurse, paramedic or other medically trained individual who is responsible for evaluating potential donors, discussing donation with family members, medically managing the donor prior to the recovery of organs and tissues and arranging for the donation process (removal and transport of donated organs).

R

Recipient

In the context of organ and tissue transplantation, this is the patient receiving the donated organ or tissue.

Recovery

In the context of organ and tissue transplantation, refers to the process of removing organs and tissues from the donor.

Rejection (Acute and Chronic)

The body's way of protecting itself against a foreign invader such as infectious germs. The body sees the transplanted organ or tissue as a foreign invader and attempts to destroy it. Acute rejection happens very quickly; chronic rejection is the slow failure of a donated organ to function.

Required Request

A law passed in 1986 requiring hospitals to have a policy in place requiring all families of suitable donors to be asked to give consent to their loved one's organs and tissues to be used for transplant. This law is expected to increase the number of donated organs and tissues for transplantation by giving more people the opportunity to donate.

Requester

A healthcare professional who discusses organ donation with surviving family members of a potential donor in order to obtain their consent for donation to occur.

S

Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR)

In 1984, Congress passed the National Organ Transplant Act (See also National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA) that mandated the establishment of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network and SRTR.The purpose of the SRTR is to provide evaluation of clinical information about donors, transplant candidates and recipients, as well as patient and graft survival rates.

Skin

This is the largest organ of the body and has several different functions (e.g., protection from infection, fluid balance, cooling). Skin grafts can save the life a burn victim and can provide severely scarred individuals with a better quality of life.

Status

In the context of transplantation, an indication of the degree of medical urgency for patients awaiting heart or liver transplants.

T

Tendon

A tough, flexible band of fibrous tissue that connects muscles to bones. The skeletal muscles move the bones for walking, jumping, lifting, etc. by contracting and pulling the bones. The tendon attaches to the muscle and bone and transmits the force of muscle contraction to the bone. Tendons can be transplanted. See Connective Tissue.

Tissue

A body part consisting of similar cells that perform a special function. Examples of tissues that can be transplanted are bones, corneas, heart valves, ligaments, veins, and tendons.

Tissue Typing

A procedure in which the tissues of a prospective donor and recipient are tested to identify the human leukocyte antigens (HLA). See HLA.

Transplantation

The transfer of cells (e.g. stem cells), tissue, or organs from one person to another.

Transplantation, Allogenic (allograft)

Transplantation between genetically different members of the same species (not identical twins).

Transplantation, Autologous

Receiving a transplant of one's own cell or tissues. This type of transplantation can be used to repair or replace damaged tissue. For example, autologous bone marrow transplantation permits the use of strong cancer therapies that can damage bone marrow. Bone marrow is removed prior to treatment and once the treatment is completed marrow that has not been affected by the therapy is transplanted back into the patient.

Transplant Coordinator

A transplant center staff member responsible for managing the care and progress of potential transplant recipients before, during and after the transplantation.

Transplant Recipient

A person who has received a tissue or organ transplant.

U

United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)

The private, nonprofit membership organization that coordinates the national matching system, the OPTN, under contract to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. As OPTN contractor, UNOS has established and continually strives to improve tools, systems and quality processes that support OPTN contract objectives and requirements.

V

Vascularized Composite Allograft (VCA)

A transplant that is composed of several kinds of tissue such as skin, bone, muscles, blood vessels, nerves, and connective tissue, VCAs include hand, arm, or face transplants.

• Vascularized: containing blood vessels or other fluid-bearing vessels or ducts.
• Composite: made up of various parts or elements.
• Allograft: a transplanted organ or tissue from one individual to another of the same species with a different genotype. For example, a transplant from one person to another, but not an identical twin, is an allograft.

W

Waiting List

A national database maintained by the OPTN of all patients waiting for an organ transplant. It is made up of sublists of patients waiting for specific organs. See Match Run.

X

Xenograft

An organ or tissue transplanted into a human from a non-human animal.