The Critical Need For Organ Donation

By The Associated Press

About 68,000 people are waiting for transplants in the United States, including more than 2,000 in Ohio, with kidneys in greatest demand, according to the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations.

There 10,000 to 15,000 potential organ donors in the country each year, but fewer than 6,000 people donated organs in 1999.

Only people who have suffered a brain death, which occurs when brain function has permanently stopped and the person can’t breathe on his or her own, are able to donate organs. When someone suffers a cardiac death – stoppage of the heart – only tissues can be donated.

Hospitals must contact their local organ procurement organization for every patient death or if brain death is imminent. The United Network for Organ Sharing database then is used to search for potential matches.

The heart and lungs must be recovered within four to six hours of brain death. Kidneys must be removed within 48 hours. Tissues and bone are recovered later.

It is possible to donate more than 25 organs and tissues, including kidney, heart, pancreas, lungs, liver, intestines, eyes, skin, bone, cartilage, middle ear, heart valves, blood vessels, and tendons.