What do organ donors donate

You replace these repeatedly throughout your life. This means that you can donate blood and platelets more than once. Blood had different lifesaving uses. Doctors can use it whole or they can separate it into packed red cells, plasma, and platelets. It only takes about 10 minutes to collect one pint of blood. The entire process takes about an hour because they need to test and screen your blood. Doctors separate platelets from the rest of the blood. Then they return the blood to you.

Your body will replace the missing platelets in a few hours. One donor can save 8 lives and enhance the lives of 75 more. What Can Be Donated. What organs can I donate after I die? In , doctors performed over 85, corneal transplants. The cornea is the clear part of the eye over the iris and pupil. Damaged corneas can result from eye disease, injury, or birth defects.

They range from children through to older Australians. Many on the organ transplant waiting list have a congenital or genetic condition, illness or sudden organ failure that will make them very sick and in need of a transplant.

We never know when illness could affect a family member, friend or colleague who may need a transplant. Organs and tissue from a donor will only be used when a donor or their family gives consent after the donor has died.

The Australian Organ Donor Register is the official national register for people 16 years of age or older to give their intention to be a donor. Recording your decision on the Register ensures authorised healthcare professionals anywhere in Australia can check your donation decision at any time.

In the event of your death, information about your decision will be provided to your family. You can decide to donate specific organs or tissues, all simply select all organs and tissue. Health professionals will assess at the time of death what organs and tissue could be safely transplanted to someone else. Donation can involve:.

For general enquiries about organ and tissue donation locally, phone DonateLife Victoria : 03 There are very few medical conditions that would impact on the possibility of someone becoming a donor.

You should not rule yourself out based on a medical condition or your age. At death, a detailed assessment is conducted by qualified health professional involved in your care to decide whether some or all organs and tissue are suitable for transplant. Having the right conditions to facilitate donation is rare - less than one per cent of all people who die in hospital each year are medically suitable to become organ donors.

The process also considers the medical urgency a particular person may need a transplant and the length of time they have been on the waiting list for transplantation. A greater number of people can donate tissue for transplantation than organs. Unlike organs, tissue may be stored for a period of time after donation, and can be retrieved up to 24 hours after death, regardless of where the donor died. For more details on eye and tissue donation visit the DonateLife website.

If you are in a position to donate organs or tissue and you have registered, DonateLife will ask your senior next-of-kin to support your decision to be a donor. Letting them know what you've decided now makes it much easier for them. Knowing donation is what you wanted could make their decision a lot easier when they are trying to deal with their loss. Let them know your decision. By continuing to use this website you agree to our use of cookies. Read more about our cookies.

Hi there, we see you're using OS , why not try our app? Skip to main content. Helping you to decide About organ donation What can you donate? Who can donate? Ireland Crown dependencies. Become a living donor Donating your kidney Donating part of your liver Bone and amniotic membrane donation. Get involved News Campaigns Share your experience. You are here: Home Helping you to decide About organ donation What can you donate?

What can you donate? Organs that can be transplanted are the heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and intestines. The skin, bone tissue including tendons and cartilage , eye tissue, heart valves and blood vessels are transplantable forms of tissue. Even if you are a registered donor, your organs or tissue may be rejected after your death for medical reasons, for instance if you:.