How to Pass life On

How to Pass Life On

“What does it mean to pass life on? It means that you have the potential to help save and enhance the lives of others- those who suffer from chronic illness, from debilitating disease, from the effects of traumatic events.” (Life) Can you imagine what it would be like to be able to save someone’s life just by making the conscious decision to do so? What it feels like to have such power in your hands that you could save someone’s mother or father, sister or brother, son or daughter just by saying “I will do this.” The secret here is that you CAN save someone’s life just by saying “I will do this.” It isn’t a decision to take lightly or one you can make over night but it is one worth considering. The gift of life I am talking about is living organ donation. Most people are not even aware that living organ donation is a possibility and even less is commonly known about the process, risks, benefits and the costs associated with this most selfless gift. Organ donation is important even if you only choose to donate after death, but with medical science progressing every day we now have the unique ability to become an everyday superhero. Here are facts and a basic guide to becoming a living organ donor.

When most people think of donating organs the first thing that comes to mind is death. While it is true that most organ transplants take place after someone has been legally declared brain dead, it is possible to be a living organ donor. Most people who make the decision to become a living donor donate their organs to a family member or close friend, but there are also many cases of selfless strangers donating to people that they have never even met. Roughly 6,000 transplant surgeries a year happen because of living donors! (Transplant) While this number seems great it is sadly still true that about 18 people die each day because of a lack of available organs. (Donate) Currently there are about 116,949 people on the transplant waiting list (United) and it roughly every 11 minutes another person is added to this list. (National) The decision to become a living organ donor is not one to take lightly you should be sure to consider all of your options before making this very personal decision.

The most common organ donated by a living donor is a kidney. Due to this fact, most people tend to be under the impression that the only organ a living donor can donate is a kidney, however this is not true. A living donor has the ability to donate a kidney, a portion of their liver, one of their two lungs, part of the pancreas or part of their intestines. It is important for all people considering live organ donation to understand why they can safely donate these organs. A living donor can donate one of their two kidneys because the remaining kidney will function well enough on its own to still remove waste from the body. It is possible to donate a portion or lobe of their liver because a healthy liver has the unique ability to regenerate itself or re-grow its cells almost back to its original size in a short amount of time! Donating a lung, part of one’s pancreas or a portion of their intestines is somewhat different from the liver. These organs are different because they do not have the ability to regenerate themselves; however, the donated portion and the portion remaining with the living donor are fully functional without the missing section. (US) Now that you understand what organs can be donated you should research the criteria a living donor must meet.

Many people are able to be living organ donors, with this being said of course there are ideal circumstances and ultimately the decision is made at the discretion of the transplant center you are working with. The criteria to be a living donor has some wiggle room and is not entirely concrete so don’t let these general guidelines discourage you; every case is different. In general it is recommended that living donors range in age from 18 to 60 years of age. Donors should be in good overall health and emotionally stable. You must be a compatible donor for your recipient. Donors should not have or have had diabetes, cancer, a history of high blood pressure, heart disease or kidney disease. (Donate) There will be many physicals and routine exams and tests preformed to ensure that a potential donor’s physical and emotional health are adequate. Your health and safety as a donor are important, if there is any indication that the transplant will have a negative effect on your life the doctors will not approve the surgery.

There are several types of living donation that you can consider; here we will examine the four most common types of living donation. The most common living donation occurs between blood relatives and is known as related donation; it is when a living donor gives an organ to someone who is closely related to them by blood such as a brother, sister, parent etcetera. Another type of living donation is known as Non-Related donation and occurs between people who are emotionally close to one another though not actually related by blood such as a spouse, in-law or best friend and so on. Non- Directed donation happens when the donor and recipient do not know one another at all and have never met; this is donation is made by a completely selfless donor. A more complicated type of living donation occurs between two kidney donor/recipient pairs that are already matched but not compatible with one another. In this case the recipients exchange donors so that they are then compatible and can receive their new kidneys. (Donate)

There are several tests that are involved with becoming a living donor. Transplant teams want to ensure that they are careful and thorough so that the best outcome can be expected. The first step is to make sure that the donor and recipient have a compatible blood type. Your blood types don’t have to be an exact match but there are certain blood types that are compatible and others that are not. The following chart will illustrate the blood type compatibility:


Blood Type Compatibility Chart
Recipient's Blood Type Donor's Blood Type
O O
A A or O
B B or O
AB A,B, AB or O
(Transplant) Courtesy of transplantliving.org

If the donor and recipient are deemed compatible then the next step is the extensive medical work up which includes nine main components. The first test is tissue typing. Tissue typing is when the donors blood is taken and matched using 6 codes on donor and recipients cells. This is a standard test but very rarely used as a determining factor for living donation. The second test is called Crossmatching. Crossmatching is another blood test that can tell is the recipient will adversely react to the donor organ. The test can find out if antibodies in the recipient will react adversely with the donors, if this happens the recipient will immediately reject the organ and therefore the transplant team would not want to proceed. This test is most commonly used for kidney and pancreas transplants. The third test is the Antibody screen. The antibody screen can basically be described as the same as crossmatching as it is used as a way to determine donor/ recipient compatibility based on antibodies but it is used in all transplants. In the case of a kidney transplant a urine test is preformed to make sure that the donor’s kidneys function well enough. A chest x-ray and electrocardiogram is used to make sure that the donor does not have an unknown lung or heart disease. An arteriogram is a set of tests that allows the organ that is going to be transplanted to be viewed by injecting liquid that can be seen on an x-ray into the blood vessels. A psychiatric and psychological evaluation will also be performed to make sure that the donor is making this conscious decision with a sound and healthy mind. For potential female donors a complete gynecological exam is also necessary along with a mammogram for women over the age of 32. Finally there is a final blood test usually conducted within two days of the transplant; it is another crossmatch to ensure again that the two people are entirely compatible. (Transplant)

Perhaps the biggest thing that people consider before deciding whether or not to become a living donor is the risks associated with the surgery and after care. No matter what your individual transplant team will be able to give you the best answer for this question because they know every aspect of your medical history and the circumstances surrounding the transplant so be sure to consult them for a better idea. There is a general list of risks that although rare can happen. The risks can include pain, infection, incisional hernia, pneumonia, blood clots, hemorrhaging, the potential need for a blood transfusion or even death. There are also some psychological concerns as well. Psychological concerns include anxiety, depression, distress if the organ is rejected or guilt should the recipient die. These risks are serious and real, but also rare. Your transplant team can help you better understand these risks and you should consider them when you make your decision as well.

Recovering after donating an organ sounds scary and confusing! The truth is donors only stay in the hospital an average of four to seven days after the surgery. As a general guideline it is said that donors can resume their normal, everyday activities roughly one month after surgery and even return to work at approximately six weeks post-op. After the operation you will have follow up care with the transplant team to ensure that you are doing well both physically and emotionally following the transplant and shortly thereafter you will be able to return to your primary care physician. (Transplant) It is important to know that being a living donor does not change or decrease your life expectancy! Typically living donors continue to live normal, healthy lives just as they did before the transplant. (Donate) Women who wish to become living donors should know that there are no studies to show that pregnancy after donation is abnormal at all. However, in order to give your body proper time to heal it is suggested that you wait about six months to become pregnant after your surgery. As far as future insurance coverage goes, having been a living donor is not restricted by most insurance companies. (Transplant)

“Somewhere on that list is… A man who hopes he’ll be around to walk his daughter down the aisle. A woman who wants nothing more than to grow old with her husband. A child who can’t remember a time when trips to the hospital weren’t a normal part of life.” (National) Living donation is a way to increase the number of transplants per year to help bridge the gap in the organ shortage. In 1954 the first living organ donation was performed. The patients were 23 years old and were identical twins. Ronald Herrick donated his kidney to his twin brother Richard. Although Richard Herrick died eight years later it was unrelated to the transplant and until that point both men’s lives had been normal and healthy. (Transplant) Undeniably since 1954 the medical advances are astonishing and only continue to get better. The survival rates for transplant recipients only continue to get better. The survival rate of a kidney transplant who gets their kidney from a living donor is a huge 98.7%; while the survival rate for patients who get their liver transplant from a living donor is 91.3%. (Scientific) There are no fees incurred for the donor for the surgery or care. While you will be responsible for travel expenses and other things like lost wages, lodging or annual physicals there are funds such as the National Living Donor Assistance Program that have been set up to offset or completely take care of these expenses. Knowing these facts can be helpful in the decision making process. (Transplant)

The best tool you can use in your decision making is knowledge. It is a deeply personal decision that you need to make yourself without outside influences. There are several organs that you decide to donate and several types of living donation that we talked about. Be sure to consult the transplant team in your area to find out the individual requirements and to find out if you are able to become a living donor. Giving the gift of life to someone whether they are someone you are related to or have never met is the most amazing gift you can give. Use these facts to help yourself make your decision, good luck.