Arrange for organ donation, if necessary

Organ donation involves donating healthy organs (such as the heart, lungs, pancreas, kidneys, eyes, liver, and skin) from someone who died to people who are alive and need them.

People of any age can be organ donors. However, for an organ donation to succeed, the death must occur in such a way as to preserve the organs before transfer. This means only a small number of people who wish to donate organs wind up able to do so.

If you are in a hospital, a doctor may ask if your loved one was an organ donor before death or right after.

The first step is to see whether the person who is dying has already said that they’d like to be an organ donor. They may have registered in the state registry, or had this decision listed on their driver’s license.

• Note: If a person has a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order, but also wants to donate organs, they may need to indicate which is more important to them, since machines must keep the heart beating until the organs can be donated.

If the deceased did not say that they’d like to be an organ donor ahead of time, the doctor may ask you or the next of kin for approval. A few things to keep in mind:

• They will close up any incisions, so you can still have an open-casket funeral if you want

• The body will then be returned between 12 and 36 hours after the death, so that you can start funeral plans

In some cases, an Organ Procurement Organization Representative will ask you or the family for a medical history of the deceased.

After that, the Organ Procurement Organization will find patients who match the donor and will benefit from the organs. In the meantime, machines will keep blood flowing to the organs.

A transplant surgical team will then remove the organs in the operating room. The body will then be returned.

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