How to be an organ donor

One organ and tissue donor can save up to eight lives and enhance life for as many as 75 others. While all of us have the potential to be an organ and/or tissue donor, the reality is that the opportunity for organ donation is rare. In fact, you are five times more likely to need an organ during your lifetime than you are to donate one. On average, only 2–3% of hospital deaths occur in circumstances that will support organ donation, which is why it is so important to have as many Ontarians as possible registered as potential donors. Beyond medical suitability, some of the considerations when determining potential donors include:

• Circumstances of death: Only two circumstances of death permit organ donation. The first situation, which accounts for the majority of organ donation in Ontario, occurs when a patient who has suffered neurological death (the brain is no longer functioning) has been declared dead while a ventilator continues to provide oxygen to lungs and other vital organs. The second circumstance occurs when the family in consultation with the physician has made a decision to withdraw life sustaining treatment, as the patient has no hope of survival. After that decision is made, organ donation may occur following cardiac death. This occurs in about 15% of donation cases in Ontario.

• Location of death: Because of the need for ventilator support to maintain viability of a donor's organs for transplant, organ donors must die within a critical care unit of a hospital. Patients who die outside of the critical care unit are not eligible for organ donation, though tissue donation is often still possible. This means anyone who dies of illness at home or suddenly in an accident at work cannot be considered for organ donation, but may be able to help others through tissue donation.

• Consent: Family members of potential organ donors are always approached to give consent to donation. If the patient was a registered organ donor, the patient's donation decision, stored in a secure OHIP database is disclosed to Trillium Gift of Life Network coordinators for the purpose of sharing this information with the patient's family. In almost all cases, families honour and respect their loved ones' donation decision if they are given evidence of their loved ones' wishes.

If it doesn't say “donor” on the back of your photo health card, you are most likely not a registered donor. No matter what kind of health card you have, you can visit www.beadonor.ca to check your status, or to register your consent to organ and tissue donation.

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