FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: WHY SHOULD SOMEONE CONSIDER ORGAN DONATION?

A: There is a severe shortage of organ donations in the Untied States, and here in California. Nationally eighteen people die each day waiting for a transplant. Right now, about 100,000 people are on the waiting list, more than a third of them will die before an organ can be found. The numbers are growing. The waiting list is increasing at a rate of 1000 people a month. Another name is added every 13 minutes. In the GSDS area, more than 1,000 people are on the waiting list, yet annually only 50 - 70 people donate one or more organs up on death.

Q: HOW DOES ONE BECOME AN ORGAN DONOR?

A: Now you can sign up at the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) when applying for or renewing your drivers license or I.D. card or sign up today online at Donate Life California Organ & Tissue Donor Registry (www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org or in Spanish at www.doneVIDAcalifornia.org) - to ensure your wishes are honored. Your personal information will be kept secure and confidential. It will be accessible only to authorized organ and tissue recovery personnel. Please click on one of the images below to sign up now:

Q: IF MY LOVED ONE IS AN ORGAN DONOR, WILL EVERYTHING BE DONE TO SAVE HIS OR HER LIFE?

A: Yes, absolutely. In California, the process of donation takes place only after two physicians declare you brain dead, using strict neurological examinations. Your family is then consulted regarding donation.

Brain death occurs in patients who have suffered severe injury to the brain, such as a motor vehicle accident, a gunshot wound to the head, or blow to the head. (In the U.S. about 15,000 people die such a death each year, but only 8,000 actually become organ donors). As a result of the injury, the brain swells and obstructs its own blood supply, causing brain tissue to die, and cessation of brain function. This condition is irreversible. However, the vital organs (heart, lungs, liver, pancreas, intestine and kidneys) can be kept viable for a few days, if supported by artificial mechanical means, i.e., a ventilator. Brain death is an established medical and legal diagnosis of death.

Q: WHY, AND FOR HOW LONG MUST THE VENTILATOR BE KEPT ON AFTER DECLARATION OF DEATH?

A: The ventilator is needed to provide oxygen to the vital organs, and will be kept on until surgery can be arranged and performed. Without oxygen, the organs would die, and not be viable for transplant.

Q: WHAT IS THE MAXIMUM TIME SPAN BETWEEN RECOVERING ORGANS/TISSUES AND TRANSPLANTATION?

A: The approximate maximum time for the following organs/tissues is:

Heart-lung (4-6 hours); Lung (4-6 hours); Heart (4-6 hours); Liver (24 hours); Pancreas (24 hours); Kidney (72 hours); Corneas (14 days); Bone (5 years); Skin (5 years); Heart valves (10 years).

Q: WHO GIVES CONSENT TO DONATE?

A: You give consent by signing up online at Donate Life California Organ and Tissue Donor Registry (www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org). Please tell your family of your decision to donate life. At the time of your death your legal next-of-kin will be consulted regarding donation. Your discussion with your family today will help them to honor your wishes to give the gift of life.

Q: WHAT IS THE "REQUIRED REQUEST" LEGISLATION?

A: The law (Omnibus Reconciliation Act passed in l986) was implemented due to the growing list of transplant candidates, and the tremendous shortage of organs. To meet this need, the law states that any hospital that receives government funding is required to give families the option of donation.

Q: WILL ANY PAIN BE FELT DURING SURGERY?

A: No. Since all brain activity has stopped, and the central nervous system has ceased to function, it is physically impossible to feel pain.

Q: HOW DO MAJOR RELIGIOUS GROUPS FEEL ABOUT ORGAN AND TISSUE DONATION?

A: All major religions in the United States either support or permit organ donation. Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish faiths support donation as an act of human benevolence in keeping with religious doctrine. They believe that this is essentially a gift of life to another person. Meanwhile, the religions of Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam believe that organ donation is a matter of individual conscience. If you have questions in this regard, we encourage you to consult with your religious leader.

Q: IS AN OPEN CASKET FUNERAL POSSIBLE AFTER ORGANS AND/OR TISSUES ARE REMOVED?

A: Absolutely. The transplant operation is done under surgical, sterile conditions in a hospital operating room. The body will be treated with respect and reverence. The donation of organs and/or tissues will not disfigure the body, or interfere with an open casket funeral should one be desired.

Q: WILL THE FUNERAL BE DELAYED?

A: Every effort is made to schedule surgery as soon as possible, so there should be no unnecessary delay in making funeral arrangements.

Q: DO DONOR FAMILIES HAVE TO PAY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DONATION?

A: No. All costs related to organ and/or tissue donations will be covered by the organ and tissue donor program. You will not be financially responsible for any aspect of the donation process. However, funeral arrangements and costs remain the responsibility of the relatives or persons in charge of the estate.

Q: HOW ARE RECIPIENTS CHOSEN?

A: Recipients are matched with available organs based on strict criteria that include: medical urgency, time on the waiting list, geographic proximity, and blood and tissue type. A national waiting list of recipients is maintained by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), a nonprofit service under contract with the federal government, located in Richmond, Virginia. UNOS was established under the National Organ Transplant Act of l984 and serves transplant centers, physicians, and donor organizations nationwide.

Q: CAN YOU BUY AND SELL ORGANS?

A: No. It is a crime to buy or sell organs under state law and the National Organ Transplant Act (Public Law 98-507). Anyone convicted of violating this law is subject to a maximum fine of $50,000, and/or a maximum of five years imprisonment. Organ procurement organizations (OPOs) such as Golden State Donor Services, which coordinate all activities associated with donation, (including distribution), are nonprofit agencies certified, and monitored by the U.S. government's Health Care Financing Administration.

Q: WHAT PARTS OF THE BODY CAN BE RECOVERED FOR TRANSPLANTATION?

A: Vital organs for transplantation (8 of them) include the heart, liver, pancreas, intestine, 2 kidneys, and 2 lungs. Also, tissues can be recovered, including corneas (to help blind people see), bone (to help those who might otherwise face amputation), skin (to help burn patients heal), heart valves (many times used for newborns with heart problems), tendons and veins.

Q: WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO BE A DONOR?

A: Anyone is eligible, from newborns to 80 year-olds. However, everyone who wants to be a donor, should sign up on the Donate Life California Organ and Tissue Donor Registry (www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org). Or through the DMV when you apply for or renew your driver license.Transplant coordinators along with transplant surgeons evaluate each potential donor, and the viability of each organ. They do a thorough evaluation of a donor's social and medical history as well as blood tests. But, upfront, everyone is a potential donor, and is encouraged to sighn up on the Doante Life California Registry www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org

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