Anatomical donation involves giving parts of the body for medical purposes, which saves lives, provides materials for restorative therapies, and advances medical knowledge through research. The components available for donation are broadly categorized by whether the donor is living or deceased and the intended use of the material.
Components Available Through Deceased Donation
Donation after a person has died provides the greatest number of components for transplantation, and this process can follow one of two pathways. Donation after Brain Death (DBD) occurs when there is an irreversible loss of all brain function, while the heart and lungs are kept functioning by mechanical support, preserving organ viability. Donation after Circulatory Death (DCD) is possible when a person’s heart permanently stops beating, but this method requires rapid procurement to ensure the organs and tissues remain suitable for transplant.
Organs recovered for immediate life-saving transplants include the heart, lungs (two), liver, pancreas, kidneys (two), and intestines. These solid organs must be transplanted relatively quickly. The heart and lungs have the shortest window of viability, often just a few hours. The kidneys, by contrast, can be preserved for a longer period, sometimes up to two days.
A single deceased donor can provide numerous tissues that restore function and improve quality of life. These include corneas, which can restore sight, and skin, which is used as temporary cover for severe burn victims. Other recoverable components are bone, tendons, cartilage, heart valves, and veins, all used in various reconstructive and restorative surgeries. Unlike organs, many tissues can be processed and stored for an extended period, meaning they do not require immediate transplantation.
Options for Living Donors
Individuals can donate various components while alive, ranging from routine, renewable donations to complex partial organ transplants. The most common and easily renewable donations involve blood components, such as whole blood, plasma, and platelets, which are frequently needed for transfusions and medical treatments.
Another form of donation involves blood-forming cells, primarily peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) or bone marrow, used to treat blood cancers and other disorders. PBSC donation is the most frequent method, often requiring the donor to receive a drug called filgrastim to mobilize stem cells into the bloodstream. The cells are then collected through apheresis, a non-surgical process similar to giving plasma.
Living donors can also provide solid organs, most commonly one of their two kidneys, as the remaining kidney can typically maintain normal body function. The liver is also frequently donated, owing to its unique ability to regenerate. Surgeons can remove a portion of the liver, such as the right or left lobe, and the remaining section in the donor will rapidly regrow, typically reaching near-full size within a couple of months. In rare cases, a partial lung lobe can be transplanted, though this often requires two separate donors, each contributing a lobe to a single recipient.
Donation for Medical Education and Research
Separate from the transplant system, individuals can choose to donate their entire body to a university or academic institution for medical education and scientific research. This process, known as whole-body donation, is managed by specific academic programs or non-profit organizations, not the organ procurement organizations that handle transplants. The donation supports the training of future healthcare professionals, who learn human anatomy and surgical techniques. The donated body may be used for several months to a few years for purposes like anatomy labs, surgical practice, and forensic research. This also contributes to scientific advancement by allowing researchers to study disease progression or develop new medical devices and treatments.