Organ and tissue donation usually takes 24 to 36 hours, but it is different for everyone.
Families of donors have support from specially trained staff, such as a donor coordinator for organ donation and a tissue specialist for tissue donations. Their roles include:
- coordinating the donation process
- teaching families and healthcare providers about organ and tissue donation
- helping with research
- giving support and communicating with the families of donors
Tests
Donors are tested for safety and quality of the organs and tissues.
For organ donation, the person who died is checked in the intensive care unit to make sure the organs work properly. Even if the organs were healthy and strong before the person died, sometimes the organs are damaged and can't be used.
Tests may include:
- blood tests
- a biopsy to check the liver
- an echocardiogram or an angiogram to check the heart
- a chest x-ray and other tests to check the lungs
- urine tests and sometimes a biopsy to check the kidneys
Tissue donors generally do not need the same testing as organ donors, because tissues usually change less after death.
How organ donation happens
For organ donation, the person is confirmed dead, and they are kept on a ventilator in the intensive care unit.
The healthcare team checks if the person has registered with the Alberta Organ and Tissue Donation Registry. This information is shared with the family, and they are offered the option to donate their loved one's organs and tissues.
The surgery to remove organs and tissues is done with the same care and respect as any other surgery.
Most of the time, there is no way to tell that the person was an organ or tissue donor, and they are able to have an open-casket funeral.
If the family wishes to donate, a donor coordinator talks with them about donation and asks questions about the person's social and medical history. The donor coordinator also asks the family to sign a consent form saying they have been informed about, and agree with, the donation process.
Tests are done to make sure the organs are healthy and safe. Then the organs are matched with people who need them through a national transplant waiting list.
The organs are removed in an operating room and sent to recipient centres to be transplanted.
If the person can donate tissue, the tissue recovery is done after the organ recovery.
After the donation process, the person's body is released to a funeral home chosen by their family.
How tissue donation happens
For tissue donation, the person is first confirmed dead. They do not need to be kept on a ventilator.
Then the healthcare team checks if the person has registered with the Alberta Organ and Tissue Donation Registry. This information is shared with the family, and they are offered the option to donate their loved one's tissues.
If the family chooses to donate, a donation professional gets consent and asks about the person's social history and medical history.
The tissue program reviews the person's medical records to know if they can donate tissues.
The tissues are removed (in an operating room, at the bedside, or the morgue), processed, and stored until they can be transplanted to a recipient who needs them.
After the donation process, the person's body is released to a funeral home chosen by their family.
Recipients are the people who receive an organ or tissue transplant from a donor.
Donor families do not get much information about recipients.
Medical specialists find the best match for available organs and tissues based on many factors, such as:
- recipient's blood type, height, and weight
- recipient's medical condition (how sick they are)
- how long the recipient has been on the waiting list
- recipient's distance from the donor (how far away they are)
