A donor, in health and medicine, is an individual who provides biological material for therapeutic, research, or transplantation purposes. This involves transferring cells, tissues, or organs to treat disease or restore lost function. The material is used in procedures like blood transfusions, tissue grafts, or life-saving organ transplants. This biological gift is a formal process designed to improve the health or extend the life of a recipient.
Defining Biological Donation
Biological donation involves the physical transfer of biological components to meet a medical need, requiring strict medical oversight and ethical consideration. The overarching purpose of this system is to save lives, restore a patient’s health, or advance scientific understanding through research.
A core concept is informed consent, which ensures the donor or their legal representative fully understands the process, risks, and potential outcomes before authorization. Comprehensive screening processes are mandatory to ensure the safety and compatibility of the donated material, involving detailed testing for transmissible diseases and assessing the donor’s health status.
Eligibility criteria are based on the donor’s age and medical history to minimize risk to the recipient and maximize material viability. Transplant programs must disclose all relevant information, including potential post-donation complications and the expected success rate for the recipient. This standard ensures that biological donation is a voluntary, non-commercial act performed under the safest conditions.
The Role of Living Donors
Living donation involves recovering renewable or paired biological material while the donor is still alive. The most common form is the donation of blood and plasma, which involves minimal recovery time. Stem cell or bone marrow donation, typically used to treat blood cancers, is also common, often involving a procedure similar to a blood draw or surgical extraction.
Organ donation from a living person usually involves a single kidney, as the remaining kidney sustains normal bodily function. Recovery from laparoscopic kidney removal is typically four to eight weeks, with a return to non-strenuous activities possible within two to three weeks. Living donors can also provide a portion of their liver, which regenerates back to nearly its original size in both the donor and recipient.
Living donors are held to a high ethical standard because they undergo an invasive procedure without receiving medical benefit. The evaluation process is extensive, including medical, surgical, and psychosocial assessments. These assessments confirm the decision is free from coercion and ensure the donor understands the short-term and long-term risks before the procedure proceeds.
The Role of Deceased Donors
Deceased donation occurs after an individual has been declared legally dead, allowing for the recovery of organs and tissues. Legal consent is established either through the donor’s prior registration on a registry or through authorization provided by the legal next-of-kin. This authorization is granted before any recovery procedure begins.
The process is divided into two pathways based on how death is determined. Donation after Brain Death (DBD) occurs when hospital physicians confirm the irreversible loss of all brain and brainstem function. Although a ventilator may temporarily maintain organ function, the individual is legally considered dead, and most major organs can be recovered.
The second pathway is Donation after Circulatory Determination of Death (DCD), which applies when death is declared following the irreversible cessation of heart and lung function. In DCD cases, life support is withdrawn in a planned setting, and death is pronounced after the heart has stopped beating for a specified period. This method is time-sensitive, as a prolonged lack of circulation can damage organs, requiring a time limit on how quickly organs must be recovered after declaration of death.
A deceased donor can provide life-saving organs and tissues. Whole-body donation for medical research and education is also a form of post-mortem donation that provides invaluable resources for training physicians and scientists. The entire recovery process is handled by a specialized surgical team only after death has been certified by physicians who are not involved in the transplant team.
Organs and Tissues Recovered
- Heart
- Lungs
- Liver
- Pancreas
- Kidneys
- Corneas
- Skin, bone, and veins