Many different parts of the body can be donated to save or enhance the lives of others. After a person has passed away, there is a limited window of time to remove organs or tissue from the body. For most donations, they must be removed within 12-24 hours following death. Some donations such as a cornea donation have an even shorter window and must be removed in under 12 hours.
You may select to only donate certain parts of your body or donate everything you can. Organ donation can include kidneys, pancreas, lungs, heart and intestinal organs. Tissue donation such as skin, bone and heart valves may also be donated to save lives or dramatically improve the quality of life for some recipients.
The matter in which you die may impact what organs are eligible for donation. The two types of death that determine eligibility are brain death and circulatory death. Brain death is the more favorable of the two options as it allows more organs to be eligible for donation. When someone dies from brain death, they are often hooked up to machines that keep their organs functioning and circulating blood. With this cause of death, many of the deceased’s organs can be removed and donated.
The second type of death is circulatory death. This type of death often decreases the number of organs that are eligible for donation. Circulatory death results in blood no longer circulating through the body. This causes the internal organs to deteriorate more quickly due to the lack of blood flow. Although circulatory death limits the organs available for donation, tissue donation is still possible.
If you would like to learn more about organ donation in Pennsylvania, please visit the website for the
Donate Life Pennsylvania. This non-profit organization is dedicated to educating the public about organ donation and increasing donor registration.