Donation Essentials Blog
Can My Family Override My Decision to be a Donor?
Can My Family Override My Decision to be a Donor? Many people wonder if their family can override their decision to be an organ, eye and tissue donor after death. In short, the answer is no. Let’s talk a little more about this decision, the registry, and the donation process. What does Signing Up as […]
What is Brain Death? Key Facts for Organ Donation and Transplantation
Organs are most commonly recovered after brain death, when all brain function has permanently stopped. Brain death is not the same as being in a coma or a persistent vegetative state, and a physician declares brain death independent from and regardless of organ donation status. No one has ever regained consciousness from or survived brain […]
Improving the Organ Donation System with On-Site Recovery Centers
Improving the Organ Donation System with On-Site Recovery Centers Every 8 minutes, someone is added to the transplant waiting list. Right now, in Colorado and Wyoming, nearly 1,300 people await a lifesaving organ transplant. Nationwide, more than 100,000 people are on the transplant waiting list. The need for lifesaving organ donations is urgent. Unfortunately, widespread […]
How are patients selected to receive a transplant?
How Are Transplant Patients Selected? Understanding U.S. Organ Allocation Policy Who decides where donated organs go and how matches are made? The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) does just that. This nonprofit manages the national transplant system, working 24/7 to connect donors with patients waiting for a second chance at life. The organization’s policies […]
Who Can’t Be an Organ, Eye and Tissue Donor?
Donor Alliance is often asked who can’t be an organ, eye and tissue donor. The short answer is, everyone has the potential to be an organ, eye and tissue donor! Even if you have a chronic illness or health condition when you pass away, you still may be able to give the gift of life […]
How Tissue Donation Impacts Breast Cancer Journey
Breast Cancer Awareness: How Tissue Donation Impacts Experiences with Double Mastectomy and Reconstruction October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Donor Alliance is educating people about how the lifesaving and healing gifts of tissue can help those recovering from a double mastectomy. One person can save up to eight lives through organ donation and save […]
How Are Organs and Tissues Transported for Transplant?
Curious how organs are transported for transplant? All local organs for transplant are accompanied by a certified courier and/or tracked using a monitoring device. It’s important to keep a few facts in mind when about how organs are transported: The time donor kidneys remain viable outside the body allows for the use of commercial […]
Understanding Lung Transplants & Lung Transplant Surgery
October is Healthy Lung Month, an observance dedicated to raising awareness about lung health and encourage people to take steps to maintain healthy lungs. Currently, nearly 1,000 people in the United States are on the waitlist for a lifesaving lung transplant. This requires lung transplant surgery. According to the Organ Procurement Transplant Network, so far in […]
Expanding the Impact of Bone Marrow Transplants
Bone marrow transplants, also known as a stem cell transplant, are sometimes the only line of treatment for patients facing blood cancers and other diseases. Especially diseases that compromise the body’s ability to produce healthy blood cells. Replacing damaged or diseased bone marrow with healthy stem cells restores the body’s ability to generate red blood […]