Common Misconceptions

Misconceptions - Setting the Record Straight

Medical professionals will do everything they can to save your life. The doctors who work to save your life are not the same doctors involved with organ donation. It is only after every attempt has been made to save your life that donation will be considered. In fact, from a medical standpoint, patients must receive the most aggressive life-saving care in order to be potential organ donors.

Organ and tissue donation is only accepted following the declaration of death by a doctor not involved in transplantation. In California, two licensed physicians must make the diagnosis of brain death before the potential donor’s family is consulted regarding donation.

UNOS and the country's transplant centers have created a waiting list, which has each waiting recipient by weight, height and blood group. Priority depends on scientific and medical factors, including urgency of need, length of time on the waiting list, blood type and organ size compatibility. Factors such as race, gender, age, income or celebrity status are never considered when determining who receives an organ.

Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish faiths support donation as an act of human benevolence in keeping with religious doctrine. They believe that this is essentially a gift of life to another person. Meanwhile, the religions of Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam believe that organ donation is a matter of individual conscience. If you have questions in this regard, we encourage you to consult with your religious leader. No major religion opposes organ donation.

The donation operation is done under surgical, sterile conditions in a hospital operating room. The body will be treated with respect and reverence. The donation of organs and/or tissues will not disfigure the body, or interfere with an open casket funeral should you desire one.

Costs related to organ and/or tissue donations will be covered by the organ and tissue donor program. You will not be financially responsible for any aspect of the donation process. However, medical care up to the point of donation, funeral arrangements and costs remain the responsibility of the relatives or persons in charge of the estate.

The fact that you want to be a donor is something to be celebrated, and we encourage you to register your decision with pride. Age, being a cancer survivor, most medical conditions, or the inability to donate blood does not exclude you from being a suitable organ and tissue donor. (In fact, there has been a 93-year-old kidney donor and a 99-year-old cornea donor!) There are very few automatic rule-outs, and due to medical advancements, even some of these may change over time. In the event you are in a position to be an actual donor, medical specialists will evaluate your medical history to determine your suitability to donate.

The identity of all parties is kept confidential. The donor family and the transplant recipient may receive such information as age, sex and state of residence. Individually, the recipient may be told the circumstances of death, and the donor's family may be informed of the transplants that were performed and receive feedback on how the health of the recipients has improved. The donation agencies facilitate correspondence and meetings initiated by either the donor family or recipient and agreed to by both parties.