The heart, liver, kidneys, lungs, small intestine and pancreas can be donated. Transplantable tissues include bone, heart valves, skin, corneas, ligaments, and tendons.
Bone tissue donation can help prevent amputation in people with severe injuries. Donated heart valves can replace defective or diseased valves. Skin donations can act as a temporary covering for burn victims or those with severe wounds. Corneas can restore sight in those with corneal blindness. Ligaments and tendons can help repair injured joints.
Just one donor can save up to eight lives through organ donation. And one donor can save or heal more than 75 lives through eye and tissue donation!
No, an open casket funeral is possible. Donation does not limit funeral or burial arrangements.
We treat the donor's body with great respect and dignity throughout the donation process. Their appearance following donation still allows for an open-casket funeral.
Once the organ and/or tissue recovery process is complete, the body is released to the donor’s family. The time required for the donation process varies depending on the organs and tissues recovered. It is generally completed within 24-48 hours. The recovery organization communicates with the family and/or funeral home during this timeframe.
It depends. The facilitation of requests for the sharing of information is guided by respect for the confidentiality of donor families and recipients. Communication processes differ after eye, organ, and tissue donation. Within a few weeks after donation occurs, the donor family will be notified of general information about the recipient(s), including age, sex, and residential region.
Potential correspondence between donor families and recipients is facilitated by the recovery organization in a way that ensures donor and recipient confidentiality. If correspondence continues over time and both parties agree to disclose their identity, it may be possible for donor families and recipients to communicate directly. If both parties wish, people can meet each other in person, while others may be more comfortable communicating without direct contact. Either party may decline to correspond or meet for various reasons.