Organ donation is a process where organs and tissues are transferred to replace damaged or failing ones. The need for donors is consistently high, and thousands of people wait for a transplant. Many people wonder if their age might disqualify them from becoming a donor. Eligibility is less about a person’s chronological age and more about the medical condition of their organs at the time of death.
Age and Consent for Donation
There is no minimum age for medical eligibility to be a donor, but strict legal rules govern consent for minors. In many states, teenagers as young as 16 can register their intent to donate, often when obtaining a driver’s license. However, this registration is not legally binding authorization for those under 18. If a minor dies, their parents or legal guardian must provide final authorization for the donation to proceed, regardless of the child’s registration status.
Children, infants, and newborns can become organ donors. Their organs are often important for saving the lives of other young patients. Organ size is particularly important in pediatric transplants, so organs from young donors are often matched with children on the waiting list. Parents or guardians must make the donation decision for a child.
The Myth of Being Too Old
A common misconception is that an upper age limit, such as 65 or 70, disqualifies a person from donating organs. Medical professionals are far more concerned with the overall health and function of the organs than the donor’s birth date. The evaluation focuses on “functional age” rather than chronological age.
Donors in their 70s, 80s, and even 90s have successfully donated organs. Individuals as old as 95 have been recorded as the oldest organ donors in the United States, with successful liver transplants. More than 30 percent of deceased organ donors in the U.S. since 1988 have been over the age of 50, a number that continues to increase. Medical teams assess each potential donor individually to determine organ suitability at the time of death.
Factors That Truly Determine Eligibility
The determination of whether a donation can occur rests with a medical evaluation conducted by transplant specialists. This screening process happens after death and focuses on the health of each specific organ, not on the person’s prior registration or age. Even if a donor has a history of chronic illness, certain organs may still be viable for transplant.
The medical team performs testing to rule out infectious diseases, such as active HIV or Hepatitis C, or certain types of cancer. They also review the donor’s complete medical history, looking for conditions like uncontrolled high blood pressure or severe cardiovascular disease that may have compromised organ function. The cause of death is a factor, as organs from a donor declared brain dead are generally more viable for transplant than those from a donor who died following cardiac death.
Not all organs and tissues are treated equally in the screening process. For instance, a person’s lungs may be deemed unsuitable for donation due to a history of smoking, but their liver or kidneys may still be viable for transplant. Because of these detailed, organ-specific assessments, people of all ages and with many different medical histories should consider themselves potential donors and register their decision.