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Allocation/Matching What factors are considered in organ matching and allocation? Many different medical and logistical characteristics are considered for an organ to be distributed to the best-matched potential recipient. While the specific criteria differ for various organs, matching criteria generally include blood type and size of the organ(s) needed, time spent awaiting a transplant, and the relative distance between donor and recipient. For certain organs, other factors are vital, including the medical urgency of the recipient, the degree of immune system match between donor and recipient, and whether the recipient is a child or an adult. For more information within this Web site, visit: About Transplantation --The Organ Matching Process or OPTN Allocation Policy 3. Donation How does whole body donation differ from organ donation? How can I get more information? Whole body donation for research is handled differently from organ and/or tissue donation for transplantation. Often such arrangements are made through individual medical schools. There are a number of Internet resources that describe whole body donation; one such site is: Body Donation Programs in the United States, found at: http://www.med.ufl.edu/anatbd/usprograms.html Who can become a donor? All individuals can indicate their intent to donate (persons under 18 years of age must have parent's or guardian's consent). Medical suitability for donation is determined at the time of death. What is involved in becoming a living donor? Are there resources that describe the process? Living donation is arranged through individual transplant centers according to protocols they have set. However, a general overview of Living Donation is available on our Web site. Another resource for living donors or those considering living donation is NKF's National Donor Council. Approximately 500 members of the National Donor Family Council and TransAction Council are living donors. Currently, they are working to develop special programs, resources, and features designed to meet the specific needs of living donors and their families. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact them: 212-889-2210, 800-622-9010, E-mail: donorfamily@kidney.org, or at http://www.kidney.org/recips/donor. Are there age limits or diseases that rule out organ donation? For any death where organ donation is a possibility and consent is given, there will be a medical assessment of what organs can be recovered. There are no absolute age limits to organ donation. A handful of medical conditions will rule out organ donation, such as HIV-positive status, actively spreading cancer (except for primary brain tumors that have not spread beyond the brain stem), or certain severe, current infections. However, for most other diseases or chronic medical conditions, organ donation remains possible. Unfortunately, many people never indicate their wish to donate because they believe, falsely, that their age or medical condition would not allow them to donate. If you want to save and enhance lives through donation, the most important action you can take is to share your donation decision; if donation is not medically feasible, that determination will be made at the time of death. How do I express my wishes to become an organ and tissue donor? First, indicate your intent to be an organ and tissue donor on your driver's license. Carry an organ donor card. More importantly, discuss your decision with your family and loved ones. Why should minorities be concerned about organ donation? Some diseases of the kidney, heart, lung, pancreas, and liver are found more frequently in racial and ethnic minority populations than in the general population. For example, African Americans, Asian and Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics are three times more likely to suffer from end-stage renal disease than Whites. Native Americans are four times more likely than Whites to suffer from diabetes. Some of these diseases are best treated through transplantation; others can only be treated through transplantation. Successful transplantation often is enhanced by the matching of organs between members of the same ethnic and racial group. For example, any patient is less likely to reject a kidney if it is donated by an individual who is genetically similar. Generally, people are genetically more similar to people of their own ethnicity or race than to people of other races. Therefore, a shortage of organs donated by minorities can contribute to death and longer waiting periods for transplants for minorities. Is bone marrow donation handled the same way as organ donation? Bone marrow donation is a slightly different process from living organ donation but is another greatly needed, life-saving gift. To be added to a national registry of potential marrow donors, you simply fill out a questionnaire and give a blood sample. If you are eligible to donate, your information is then added to the national registry, and when someone with a need matches your bone marrow you are contacted. For information about getting registered, contact the National Marrow Donor Program. E-mail: info@marrow.org, Web: www.marrow.org. There is a state-by-state donor center listing on their site, so you can find a facility near you for testing. I have to give a persuasive speech about organ donation. Do you have resources or talking points to help me? You can find a variety of transplant statistics and compelling facts about donation and transplant on this Web site, and other useful sites are listed in the Links section. Two helpful sites are www.organdonor.gov, administered by the Health Resources and Services Agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Coalition on Donation www.shareyourlife.org. One of the most important aspects to emphasize when discussing donation is that people who wish to become donors should discuss their decision with their loved ones. If no donor card is located for a potential donor, the family must make the decision to donate or not. Even when a donor card has been signed, families are routinely asked to give formal consent and provide additional information about the potential donor's medical history. The single most important message to convey about donation is "talk to your family about donating LIFE". On this site you will find more information in About Donation and Transplantation. Transplantation Does your network handle cord blood or stem cell transplants? The OPTN is involved with the transplantation of "solid" or vascularized organs and is not directly involved with stem cell or cord blood transplants. However, the following Internet resources might help you obtain further information on these procedures: National Marrow Donor Program American Association of Blood Banks Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) Blood & Marrow Transplant What policies apply to the transplant I need? How do I learn about potential new policies? All policies and bylaws governing the OPTN can be found on this Web site in the Policies & Bylaws section. Policies and bylaws are available there in both Adobe Acrobat PDF and Microsoft Word formats. Policy 3 contains subsections for all the individual allocation policies. Organ allocation policies are developed by the OPTN and considered for final approval by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under federal regulation governing the OPTN. As new policy proposals are developed by the OPTN for consideration, they will be circulated for public comment. This site contains a section for you to view and respond to proposals. As part of HHS' consideration of policy proposals advanced by the OPTN, additional public comment may be sought through the Federal Register or other means. This site will also give notice of those actions. Are there organizations who can help patients afford the cost of transplantation? Some transplant candidates and recipients have difficulty affording the cost of a transplant or related expenses such as travel and lodging. There are a number of local, regional and national organizations who provide some assistance through grants or services. In individual cases, local community organizations or faith groups may be able to help, or friends and families may solicit funds through public events or appeals. The [section name?] section on this site describes some of the financial issues transplant candidates and recipients face and provides resource information to assist them. |
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