Organ Donation By The Numbers

22:

People who die each day waiting for a transplant

30,970:

Transplants performed last year

120,000+:

Men, women and children currently on the national transplant waiting list

8:

Number of organs one person can potentially donate

95:

Percent of American adults who support organ donation

48:

Percent of American adults registered as organ donors

Source: organdonor.gov transplant to four to five hours for a liver transplant. Assuming all goes well, a kidney recipient could be out of the hospital in three to seven days, while a heart or liver recipient may take a week to 10 days. Complications of any kind would, obviously, extend that time frame.

If all goes as planned, the body will accept the transplanted organ and healing begins. In an effort to avoid rejection, doctors give the recipient patient immunosuppressant medications, also known as “anti-rejection” drugs. Because these medications can make the individual more vulnerable to illness and infections, an organ recipient—and their family—need to be vigilant against exposure to sickness and injury. Depending on the case, a recipient may need to be on medication for a long period following transplant surgery.

Who Pays?

You don’t have to worry that by registering as an organ donor you are leaving your family with an additional bill. The donor’s family never pays any costs associated with organ/tissue recovery; those expenses are covered by the OPO.

Transplant surgery involves an array of expenses, including lab tests, transportation to and from the transplant hospital, surgery, hospitalization, rehabilitation, therapy and medication.

Although health insurance may cover some or most costs, the insured is generally responsible for all costs not covered. You’ll need to go over the details with your insurance company and then meet with the financial coordinator at the transplant center. In some cases, you may be eligible for Medicare or Medicaid to help pay for costs.

Contact Between Donor Family And Recipient

Gratitude is a natural response when someone’s life is saved or radically improved by organ donation. When a recipient wants to reach out and say thank you, they can write a letter to the family and send it to their transplant center. The letter is then passed on to the donor family, provided both donor and recipient sides have agreed to such action.

By law, the confidentiality of donors and recipients is maintained, unless both want contact.

“Right after Tim’s death, my sister wrote to two of the recipients of his organs,” recalls Terry Rooks. “The letters were sent to LifeQuest, which forwarded them on to the recipients. We did hear from them by letter and it was a positive thing.”

Living Donations

Not all tissue and organ donations occur because the donor has died. Approximately 6,000 living donations occur each year. Under the right conditions, living persons are able to donate:

› A kidney

› One lobe of the liver

› A lung or part of a lung

› Part of the pancreas

› Part of the intestines

› Skin

› Bone (typically after knee and hip replacements)

› Bone marrow cells

› Umbilical cord blood

› Amnion (after childbirth)

› Blood (white and red cells, platelets, serum)