Organ Donation
Organ donation is when an organ is given to save or improve the life of someone else. There are many different reasons why someone might desperately need an organ donation to survive. This might be due to a condition they were born with or due to a medical problem they developed later in life.
In the UK there are over 6,000 people waiting for a transplant
3 people die everyday in the UK due to lack of available organs.
One organ donor can save up to 9 lives
What is Organ Donation?
The majority of organs are donated after a person has died (deceased organ donation) but some organs such as kidneys can be donated when a person is alive (living donation). Unless specified the information below is about donation after a person has died. There is also information on living donation at the bottom of the page.
One organ donor can help up to nine people by donating their organs and many more by donating tissue.
Which organs can be donated
- Kidney
- Heart
- Lung
- Pancreas
- Small bowel
- Cornea
- Heart valves
- Bone
Who can be an organ donor?
Can children join the register?
There are no age restrictions on joining the organ donor register but those under 18 need parental consent. Organ transplants are needed by people of all ages and the organ has to be an appropriate size. Therefore donors of all ages are needed.
Is there an upper age limit?
There is no upper age limit. The health of your organs rather than your age is assessed to determine suitability at the time of donation.
What if I have a medical condition?
There is no medical condition that would prevent you from joining the register. The suitability of your organs for donation would be decided by specialist doctors at the time of donation.
Does everyone who registers as an organ donor end up donating?
No. A person has to die in hospital in specific circumstances for their organs to be suitable for donation. This means the majority of people who register as an organ donor are not able to donate their organs when they die. However tissue donation is often possible even when organ donation is not.
Why ethnicity matters in organ donations:
We need more organ donors from all ethnic backgrounds, however there is a particular shortage of organs from people of Black and Asian backgrounds in the UK. This means people from Black and Asian backgrounds wait longer for an organ transplant and are more likely to die waiting. Organs have to be matched as well as possible between the donor and recipient. People are most likely to be a close match to someone of their own ethnicity.
Donation rates are currently lower amongst people of Black and Asian backgrounds. Certain conditions that increase the risk of needing a transplant are also more common amongst people of Black and Asian ethnicity.
See our diversity page for more information.
Law change to opt our organ donation
Across the UK, there has been a change in the law to an ‘opt out’ system of presumed consent. This means that everyone is assumed to consent to being an organ donor unless they have opted out by registering that they do not want to be an organ donor.
The opt out law does not apply to people in excluded groups. These are:
- Anyone under the age of 18 (16 in Scotland)
- Those who lack the capacity to understand the law change, make or register their decision
- Those who have been living in the UK for less than 1 year before they die.
Under the new law families will still be consulted and organ donation will only go ahead if the family are in agreement.
Each part of the UK has its own law on this but key points above apply in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. For further details on specifics of the laws in each region see the NHSBT website
Do I still have a choice?
Do I still need to register a decision?
Yes – You should still register your decision whether or not you want to be an organ donor. It is also very important to tell your family of your decision. This is because your family would be consulted before you become an organ donor and donation will only go ahead if they are in agreement. If you have registered a clear preference and told them of your wishes it is much easier for them to make the decision that you would have wanted. The consent rate from families is only 66% but it is much higher if people have registered a preference to donate and told their family of their wishes.
Will the change in the law increase the number of people who donate?
Organ donation and religion
What about living donation?
There are different types of organ donation.
Deceased donation
Deceased organ donation is when a person donates their organs after they have died. The above information all relates to deceased donation.
Altruistic donation
A person can donate a kidney or a part of their liver to another person while they are still alive. Most often this is a donation to a loved one but some people also donate an organ to someone they do not know - this is known as altruistic donation.
You can live a normal and healthy life with only one Kidney. Prior to donation your health would be checked to ensure that donating a kidney would not have any adverse effect on your health. You would also have to be checked to see if your organs are compatible with the person you want to donate to.
There is a lot more information about living donation on the NHSBT website
