Donor-Recipient Matching

A donor is matched to a recipient based on blood type, tissue type, and size. When an organ is available, it is fi rst off ered regionally to matching patients with the highest scores. This process is overseen by the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS).

Before any transplant center offi cially accepts any donor organs, a thorough assessment is completed on the donor. We must ensure that the donor lungs and/or heart are healthy and that no previous surgical procedures or past illnesses have damaged the tissue. For lung and heart/lung transplant, we are only able to use deceased donors.

If the donor organs are healthy, an appropriate recipient is chosen based on blood group and body size. If a potential donor matches equally with two recipients, the one who is more seriously ill at the time will receive the transplant. If both patients have the same health status, the one that has been listed longer will receive the organ(s).