Organ and tissue donation is a powerful way to help others. You can become a donor after having a certain need or condition. For example, if you have a need for donations of kidney or tissue, you can go to your local transplant coordinator and request that donation.
You do not get into the action of becoming a donor right away, but as you gain experience, your opportunity to help others increases. By becoming an organ and tissue donor at an early age, you can save some lives in later years.
At the beginning of your donation experience, you must attend an education session with the Donation Team. This session helps you get familiar with the rules and responsibilities that come with being an organ and tissue donor. During this session, also ask any questions you may have.
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What is a tissue donor?
As the name suggests, a tissue donor is someone who donate their skin, tissue, or other non-living material to help others. With this process, you can help save lives.
It all starts with a person looking for a healthy body to match their own body. While there are still many donation cycles every year, people look for new donors every once in a while to keep the population of donors strong.
New donors are used throughout their life to regulate blood and blood flow, prevent chronic pain and stress-related conditions, and even revere as ancients methods that worked.
As mentioned before, choosing what type of tissue you want to donate your skin, scalp hair, or Bones & Joints are important because they are what gets donated.
Skull bone shafts and hands and feet and knees and hips account for whatever cut of meat or bone someone wants to donate.
Who can be a tissue donor?
There are specific reasons to be a tissue donor, so first we must answer who can donate tissue.
Can you donate your organs? If so, then you can be a donor for close friends and relatives! Or for a non-human!
As a donor, you give your life away to save another’s. You may consider this an act of heroism, but it is in fact an extremely simple process that anyone can do.
You simply stand in front of a mirror and tell yourself “I am going to die with my face fully intact”. After a few seconds of conscious thought, you will become numb to the idea of death, dying, or any kind of pain that might occur during the donation process.
The whole experience is surprisingly calm and pleasant. You will feel relaxed and happy while doing it, and after you are finished you can smile for the first time in awhile.
What happens to my body after I die?
At the moment, the answer is: no one knows. There are discussions about it, but no one definitive answer.
There are talks of a place where we can go to die, where our bodies are evaluated and if you meet your expectations you’re allowed to leave at that time.
If you turn out to be healthy, you are allowed to leave your body on your own accord. If not, you can ask a professional whether or not you should do that.
Some argue that this is just an extension of advanced treatments like hospice care and funerals, where people get the chance to be judged by a third party before they die. Others argue that this only raises more questions about why we need health care in the first place.
Do I have to do anything before I die?
This is the question most die-hard organ and tissue donors want to do before they die. Donor families look forward to meeting the recipients every year at the transplantation surgery site to congratulate them on their recovery and support them during their lives.
You may be thinking, “I’ve given my life for others, so why do I need to get an organ?” After all, your body can work fine without an additional organ. But research shows that without a matched second or third organ, you can experience significant pain, distress, and loss.
Andrea Pihacic is a passionate leader who uses her passion for medicine to inspire people to become donors. She knows that becoming an organ donor is the first step toward changing the donation system, but she also knows there are thousands of people who would rather not donate but would benefit from an additional organs.
If you are looking into becoming an organ donor, listen to your heart often and work with your team to determine whether or not you are a good candidate for donation.
Are there any costs associated with being a donor?
While there are some costs associated with being a tissue donor, they are light and manageable. Most hospitals and medical centers offer donation programs, so you can find out if you are capable of being a donor by attending a surgery recovery class at the hospital or medical center where the donor is designated.
In order to become a tissue donor, you must first undergo training at the donation facility. There is typically somewhere local or regional that offers this training, however most recent training comes in the last year or so due to demand having diminished.
Once trained, donors can legally donate their tissues. They must then go through an initial screening process to determine if they are a suitable candidate for surgery recovery. This screening includes looking for signs of injury, evidence of infection, and possible family history of leukemia or other blood cancer.
What are the differences between soft tissue and hard tissue donations?
A tissue donor is typically referred to as a cut or cutbank donation. This is when a person, preferably with some medical training, removes their skin and non-muscular tissue from you, giving you a new body part.
Cutbank donations are typically considered more ethical as they come with the condition of death. This means that if you do not make it in to receive your donation, it will be preserved and able to be used in transplantation.
The other type of donation is hard tissue. This may include blood, bone, organs, and/or chips. Although these may technically be parts of someone, they are not considered a person because they do not have the condition of death.
Finding the right donor can be difficult due to this.
How will my body be used after death?
There are several uses for the human body after it dies. These include being used as a case study in an organ donation program, being a source of stem cells for various applications, and being used in medical science to study dead tissue.
In medical science, dried tissues are used to study dead tissue. This includes paper towels, disposable wipes, and even old bed sheets. These studies can help diagnose and treat certain conditions, such as cancer or pneumonia.
In case studies, subjects can be able to generate significant income by providing capsule-type structures that remain intact after death. These may be useful for funeral services or sales teams who may not have access to actual people during an emergency situation.
Stem cells from bone marrow donors still end up being accepted in organ donations today, so many people do not need a second chance at life.
Can I change my mind at any point?
At some point, everyone needs to decide whether to donate tissue or not. There are two main reasons to donate tissue versus not donating tissue.
The first is that there are limited donations, and second is that non-donors can change their mind and become a donor. Both of these things have happened in the past, and people are notified about it before they confirm their donation.
Second-hand smoke isn’t very appealing, and third-party donors can be hard to find due to confidentiality agreements. With all of this being considered when being a donor, people are more willing to help out.