How organ and tissue donation works
See how organ and tissue donation works and learn about its life-changing effects.
Donation transforms and save lives
Organ and tissue donation provides hope and new life to those in need. The decision to donate has the power to transform lives in profound and meaningful ways, allowing caring individuals to make a life-changing difference for those awaiting a second chance.
We know that understanding the donation process is key to your decision to registering as an organ, eye and tissue donor. Below is an overview of how the process works.
Step 1
Referral & evaluation
When a hospital has exhausted all efforts to save a patient’s life and death is imminent, federal regulations require the hospital to notify their region’s designated organ procurement organization (OPO) to evaluate for potential organ/tissue donation. Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network is the OPO that serves the northern three-quarters of Illinois and Lake County, Ind. Our 24/7 Donor Resource Center team reviews the patient’s medical condition and history to establish initial eligibility to donate.
Step 2
Authorization for organ and tissue donation
After medical eligibility for organ donation is confirmed, a specially trained Gift of Hope donation and family advocate goes to the hospital to review the patient’s chart and consult with the doctors and the patient’s care team on the circumstances surrounding patient’s death. Hospital physicians declare a patient’s death after extensive testing by established medical criteria, independently of Gift of Hope and regardless of whether donation will be an option after death is declared.
We then meet with the patient’s legal next-of-kin. If the patient did not already authorize donation as a registered donor and left the decision to others, we will ask the family to authorize donation. In either instance, we explain the donation process to answer questions, and discuss the family’s needs and preferences for updates and support. We also review a medical/social history with the family; this is required to help confirm which gifts of donated organs or tissues their loved one can safely donate for healthy transplantation with recipients.
If the patient is not medically eligible to donate organs but may donate tissue, or the patient’s death took place outside a hospital, we contact the family by telephone to discuss the opportunity and authorization for tissue donation.
Our team provides compassionate support during this time, answering questions and ensuring the family fully understands the thoughtful process ahead.
Step 3
Donor evaluation & care
After authorization for donation is confirmed, we work with the family to confirm additional medical and social information about their loved one. In addition to medical charts and tests, this is additional information that is required to help ensure that all organs and tissues donated can be safely transplanted.
At the hospital, our Gift of Hope clinical coordinator assumes care for the donor, conducting a physical exam and additional tests to confirm organ health for transplant. Meanwhile we begin our work to find matching recipients for the donated gifts that will be given.
Step 4
Matching recipients
Our Gift of Hope coordinators provide information on the donor and the organs to be donated to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), which manages the U.S. transplant waiting list. UNOS provides information on matching transplant candidates at the top of the list for each organ that will be donated, and our Gift of Hope coordinators begin contacting the transplant center for each candidate.
If a transplant surgeon does not accept the offer for their patient, we contact the next potential recipient’s transplant center and continue the process until all donated organs are placed with waiting recipients. A surgeon may decline a donated organ for their patient for a number of reasons; for example, the candidate may be unable to travel to the transplant center in time or too ill at that particular time to undergo the transplant surgery.
Step 5
Organ & tissue recovery
Once we have confirmed transplant recipients for all organs that will be donated, the Gift of Hope team confirms an operating room at the hospital where the donor’s organ recovery will take place. We coordinate the arrival of the transplant surgery teams, and the organ recovery takes place in a surgical procedure that respects the life-giving nature of the donor’s gifts.
Time is of the essence: Surgical recovery teams transport the donated organs directly to the patients awaiting transplant surgery.
Throughout this process, Gift of Hope continues to provide updates and support as the donor’s family has requested. Our coordinators also work with staff at many hospitals to coordinate an “honor walk” before the donor is taken to the operating room for organ recovery.
If the donor will also donate tissue, tissue recovery may take place up to 24 hours after death occurs. Unlike organs that must be transplanted within hours of donation, most donated tissues can be preserved until physicians need them for their patients.
STEP 6
Family support
From the start of the donation process, a Gift of Hope specialist provides the donor’s family with information, their contact information and updates as frequently as the family requests them. Many families also request donation information to share at their loved one’s final services, to honor the life-saving gifts they have given.
Within a few weeks, Gift of Hope provides the family with information about the outcome of their loved one’s donation, including general information about recipients when it is available. We continue to offer support, programs and opportunities to connect with recipients should the family wish. This care is provided for as long as the family seeks our support.
“I understand the importance of tissue donation and that it saves lives. It’s a meaningful way to help others who really need it. For my family and me, learning that donated tissue was a lifesaving option gave us hope at a time when there was little or none.”
Tony Gonzales, carpenter, sports enthusiast, burn survivor
Make a meaningful difference
At every step, the donation process is handled with the utmost care, compassion and attention to detail. It is a profoundly life-changing journey made possible by the selfless choice of donors. The generosity of those who donate allows us to transform countless lives, giving hope to those in need.
