Organ Donation FAQ from giftoflife.on.ca
Posted by EmptyShell | Posted in 101 in 1001, Awesome, donation, improvement | Posted on Tuesday, April 12, 2011
If I have signed my donor card, why do I need to register with OHIP?
A donor card is a paper card. Your decision to donate is only known to the extent that you share this decision with your family and friends.
When you register your consent to donate organs and tissue, this information is stored in a Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care database. The ministry will disclose information about your decision to Trillium Gift of Life Network, Ontario's organ and tissue donation agency, for the purpose of ensuring that your decision to donate is known and respected. By registering your consent to donate, you ensure that your donation decision is recorded and is made available to the right people at the right time, and is shared with your loved ones
Why should I donate my organs and tissue?
One donor can save up to eight lives through organ donation and enhance the lives of up to 75 others through tissue donation. Every three days someone dies in Ontario waiting for a life-saving transplant. There is a chronic shortage of organs and tissue in Ontario and the need for organs and tissue continues to outweigh their availability. More than 1,600 Ontarians are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant and thousands more are waiting for a tissue transplant.
If I have indicated my decision for organ donation, will everything be done to save my life?
The first and foremost concern for healthcare professionals caring for critically ill patients is to do everything possible to save lives. The possibility of donation is only considered when all lifesaving efforts have failed. The health care professional teams responsible for supporting donation are separate and independent from the health care professional teams responsible for transplantation.
Can my family overrule my decision to donate?
It is the Trillium Gift of Life Network's practice to reaffirm an individual's consent to donate with the family. In almost all cases, families honour and respect their loved ones' donation decision if they are given evidence that it's what the donor wanted. Therefore it is important to register your consent to donate so that your family can be advised of your decision to donate.
Does my age, pre-existing medical condition, or sexual orientation prevent me from being a donor?
Everyone can be a donor regardless of age, medical condition or sexual orientation. Your decision to register should not be based on whether you think you would be eligible or not. A donor's eligibility is determined by the health care team upon their death.
What does it mean to consent to donate organs and tissue for research?
Much medical research depends on the use of human biological material. It often provides the best way of understanding how the body works and reacts to treatment. It can also help advance and improve organ and tissue transplantation. If for some reason your organs and tissues cannot be transplanted, they can be donated for research purposes if you have specifically indicated consent to donate organs and tissue for both transplant and research.
How do I donate my body to science?
Donating your organs and tissues for research is different than donating your body to science. If you do not wish to donate organs, you may want to support teaching and research activities at a medical school by considering whole body donation, an important gift to the training of professionals in health-related disciplines.
For more information about whole body donation, please call the anatomy school of your choice or the Office of the Chief Coroner at 1-877-991-9959. If you give your body to medical science, your organs and tissue will not be available for transplantation. Similarly, if you donate organs or tissue, you cannot donate your body to science.
How long will the donation process take?
The recovery of organs and tissues may take up to 24 hours. It typically does not impact funeral or burial arrangements, and often occurs while family members are making plans and contacting others. Any concerns can be discussed with the Trillium Gift of Life Network's Organ and Tissue Donation Coordinator.
What is involved in the donation process?
Consent is confirmed with families at the hospital during end-of-life discussions. If the patient has documented consent to donate (signed donor card or registered through a Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care database or other document) these are discussed with the family at end-of-life. Access to donation decisions registered in the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care database enables Trillium Gift of Life Network to learn individual's recorded donation decision prior to being involved in discussions with family.
Testing is done to confirm the medical suitability of the organs and tissues and to determine who is the best match for transplant.
A Trillium Gift of Life Network Coordinator speaks with the donor's family to obtain the medical and social history of the person who has died. Recovery of the organs occurs in an operating room.
Trillium Gift of Life Network is contacted when someone has died, or when death is imminent to determine if the person dying is eligible to save and enhance lives through organ and tissue donation. If a person is eligible to donate, Trillium Gift of Life Network works closely with the health care professionals at the hospital to support the grieving family through the decision to donate, and ensure as many people as possible are helped through the gift of life. Trillium Gift of Life Network will contact the family when recovery is complete and will send a letter to the family to thank them for the donation and to inform them of the outcome.
How do you know if organs and tissue are suitable to donate?
Eligibility to donate is assessed at the time of death by Trillium Gift of Life Network Coordinators, the Transplant Programs and the Tissue Banks. Most diseases do not automatically exclude a person from donating.
A medical social history interview, similar to the one completed to donate blood, is performed with the family.
Every organ is tested for suitability to ensure that as many people as possible can be helped through transplant.
Organs or tissue not suitable for transplantation can be used for scientific research and medical education. Currently important research is being done on diseases that affect organ and tissue.
What impact does organ donation have on funeral plans?
An open casket funeral is possible:
Organ recovery from the abdomen or chest usually involves one surgical incision that clothing would cover.
When corneas are donated, typically the whole globe of the eye is removed. Funeral homes provide eye caps to maintain the shape and form of the eyes. This is usual practice whether eyes are donated or not.
Multi-tissue donation requires incisions to remove bones and heart valves from the body. An open casket funeral is possible, however this may impact the clothes worn by the deceased at the funeral.
The appearance of the skin after recovery is similar to that of sunburn. A paper-thin layer of skin is removed from the back of the body permitting an open casket funeral.
Donation does not typically delay funeral arrangements. Any concerns about timing can be discussed with the Trillium Gift of Life Network Coordinator.
Can donor families learn about or meet the recipients?
Donation is a confidential and anonymous process. Donor family members and recipients do not know each other's identity. Donor family members are provided general information about recipient(s) via a letter from Trillium Gift of Life Network. They may write to each other through Trillium Gift of Life Network. All identifying information is removed.
What organs and tissue can be donated?
Organs and tissue that can be donated include the heart, liver, kidneys, pancreas, lungs, small bowel, stomach, corneas, heart valves, bone and skin.
How does donation help other people?
Organ donation saves lives and is often the only treatment option for people with organs that are damaged through injury or disease and who would otherwise die.
Eye donation restores sight after disease, injury or congenital blindness.
Bone donation restores mobility and prevents amputation.
Hearts donated for heart valves repair birth defects in children and others.
Skin donation provides life-saving wound covering for burns.
Transplants not only save lives, they recapture productive lives. Outcomes continue to improve each year so more and more transplant patients are living enhanced, productive lives.
Does my religion support organ and tissue donation?
Most major religions support organ and tissue donation because it can save the life of another. If your religion restricts the use of a body after death, consult your religious leader: these restrictions may not include organ and tissue donation, if the donation could save another life.
Our Cultural and Religious Perspectives on Organ and Tissue Donation information sheet will provide you with more information about religious and cultural perspectives on organ and tissue donation.
Can I choose which organs and tissue I want to donate?
You may indicate your decision to donate all organs and tissue or indicate which specified organs and tissue you do NOT wish to donate.
Can I designate the recipient of my organs or tissue?
Donated organs and tissue are given to individual recipients based on need, blood type, genetic match and other criteria. "Directed-donation," as it is known, is not practiced in Canada. Only through living donation can the recipient be designated. Living donation may be an option for kidney, liver or lung transplants. If you are interested in being considered as a living donor, discuss this with your doctor.
Who will receive my organs and tissue? Will they stay in Ontario or Canada?
The hospital will contact Trillium Gift of Life Network, which keeps a list of everyone in Ontario who is waiting for an organ transplant. Trillium Gift of Life Network will match the tissue and blood type of the donor to an individual(s) on the waiting list. If a match is found the individual(s), who for medical reasons most needs a transplant, will receive the donated organs. If the medical urgency is the same, the individual on the waiting list the longest will receive the organ. If there is no suitable match, a cross-reference is made across Canada and possibly in the United States. This is done to save lives.
A donor card is a paper card. Your decision to donate is only known to the extent that you share this decision with your family and friends.
When you register your consent to donate organs and tissue, this information is stored in a Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care database. The ministry will disclose information about your decision to Trillium Gift of Life Network, Ontario's organ and tissue donation agency, for the purpose of ensuring that your decision to donate is known and respected. By registering your consent to donate, you ensure that your donation decision is recorded and is made available to the right people at the right time, and is shared with your loved ones
Why should I donate my organs and tissue?
One donor can save up to eight lives through organ donation and enhance the lives of up to 75 others through tissue donation. Every three days someone dies in Ontario waiting for a life-saving transplant. There is a chronic shortage of organs and tissue in Ontario and the need for organs and tissue continues to outweigh their availability. More than 1,600 Ontarians are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant and thousands more are waiting for a tissue transplant.
If I have indicated my decision for organ donation, will everything be done to save my life?
The first and foremost concern for healthcare professionals caring for critically ill patients is to do everything possible to save lives. The possibility of donation is only considered when all lifesaving efforts have failed. The health care professional teams responsible for supporting donation are separate and independent from the health care professional teams responsible for transplantation.
Can my family overrule my decision to donate?
It is the Trillium Gift of Life Network's practice to reaffirm an individual's consent to donate with the family. In almost all cases, families honour and respect their loved ones' donation decision if they are given evidence that it's what the donor wanted. Therefore it is important to register your consent to donate so that your family can be advised of your decision to donate.
Does my age, pre-existing medical condition, or sexual orientation prevent me from being a donor?
Everyone can be a donor regardless of age, medical condition or sexual orientation. Your decision to register should not be based on whether you think you would be eligible or not. A donor's eligibility is determined by the health care team upon their death.
What does it mean to consent to donate organs and tissue for research?
Much medical research depends on the use of human biological material. It often provides the best way of understanding how the body works and reacts to treatment. It can also help advance and improve organ and tissue transplantation. If for some reason your organs and tissues cannot be transplanted, they can be donated for research purposes if you have specifically indicated consent to donate organs and tissue for both transplant and research.
How do I donate my body to science?
Donating your organs and tissues for research is different than donating your body to science. If you do not wish to donate organs, you may want to support teaching and research activities at a medical school by considering whole body donation, an important gift to the training of professionals in health-related disciplines.
For more information about whole body donation, please call the anatomy school of your choice or the Office of the Chief Coroner at 1-877-991-9959. If you give your body to medical science, your organs and tissue will not be available for transplantation. Similarly, if you donate organs or tissue, you cannot donate your body to science.
How long will the donation process take?
The recovery of organs and tissues may take up to 24 hours. It typically does not impact funeral or burial arrangements, and often occurs while family members are making plans and contacting others. Any concerns can be discussed with the Trillium Gift of Life Network's Organ and Tissue Donation Coordinator.
What is involved in the donation process?
Consent is confirmed with families at the hospital during end-of-life discussions. If the patient has documented consent to donate (signed donor card or registered through a Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care database or other document) these are discussed with the family at end-of-life. Access to donation decisions registered in the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care database enables Trillium Gift of Life Network to learn individual's recorded donation decision prior to being involved in discussions with family.
Testing is done to confirm the medical suitability of the organs and tissues and to determine who is the best match for transplant.
A Trillium Gift of Life Network Coordinator speaks with the donor's family to obtain the medical and social history of the person who has died. Recovery of the organs occurs in an operating room.
Trillium Gift of Life Network is contacted when someone has died, or when death is imminent to determine if the person dying is eligible to save and enhance lives through organ and tissue donation. If a person is eligible to donate, Trillium Gift of Life Network works closely with the health care professionals at the hospital to support the grieving family through the decision to donate, and ensure as many people as possible are helped through the gift of life. Trillium Gift of Life Network will contact the family when recovery is complete and will send a letter to the family to thank them for the donation and to inform them of the outcome.
How do you know if organs and tissue are suitable to donate?
Eligibility to donate is assessed at the time of death by Trillium Gift of Life Network Coordinators, the Transplant Programs and the Tissue Banks. Most diseases do not automatically exclude a person from donating.
A medical social history interview, similar to the one completed to donate blood, is performed with the family.
Every organ is tested for suitability to ensure that as many people as possible can be helped through transplant.
Organs or tissue not suitable for transplantation can be used for scientific research and medical education. Currently important research is being done on diseases that affect organ and tissue.
What impact does organ donation have on funeral plans?
An open casket funeral is possible:
Organ recovery from the abdomen or chest usually involves one surgical incision that clothing would cover.
When corneas are donated, typically the whole globe of the eye is removed. Funeral homes provide eye caps to maintain the shape and form of the eyes. This is usual practice whether eyes are donated or not.
Multi-tissue donation requires incisions to remove bones and heart valves from the body. An open casket funeral is possible, however this may impact the clothes worn by the deceased at the funeral.
The appearance of the skin after recovery is similar to that of sunburn. A paper-thin layer of skin is removed from the back of the body permitting an open casket funeral.
Donation does not typically delay funeral arrangements. Any concerns about timing can be discussed with the Trillium Gift of Life Network Coordinator.
Can donor families learn about or meet the recipients?
Donation is a confidential and anonymous process. Donor family members and recipients do not know each other's identity. Donor family members are provided general information about recipient(s) via a letter from Trillium Gift of Life Network. They may write to each other through Trillium Gift of Life Network. All identifying information is removed.
What organs and tissue can be donated?
Organs and tissue that can be donated include the heart, liver, kidneys, pancreas, lungs, small bowel, stomach, corneas, heart valves, bone and skin.
How does donation help other people?
Organ donation saves lives and is often the only treatment option for people with organs that are damaged through injury or disease and who would otherwise die.
Eye donation restores sight after disease, injury or congenital blindness.
Bone donation restores mobility and prevents amputation.
Hearts donated for heart valves repair birth defects in children and others.
Skin donation provides life-saving wound covering for burns.
Transplants not only save lives, they recapture productive lives. Outcomes continue to improve each year so more and more transplant patients are living enhanced, productive lives.
Does my religion support organ and tissue donation?
Most major religions support organ and tissue donation because it can save the life of another. If your religion restricts the use of a body after death, consult your religious leader: these restrictions may not include organ and tissue donation, if the donation could save another life.
Our Cultural and Religious Perspectives on Organ and Tissue Donation information sheet will provide you with more information about religious and cultural perspectives on organ and tissue donation.
Can I choose which organs and tissue I want to donate?
You may indicate your decision to donate all organs and tissue or indicate which specified organs and tissue you do NOT wish to donate.
Can I designate the recipient of my organs or tissue?
Donated organs and tissue are given to individual recipients based on need, blood type, genetic match and other criteria. "Directed-donation," as it is known, is not practiced in Canada. Only through living donation can the recipient be designated. Living donation may be an option for kidney, liver or lung transplants. If you are interested in being considered as a living donor, discuss this with your doctor.
Who will receive my organs and tissue? Will they stay in Ontario or Canada?
The hospital will contact Trillium Gift of Life Network, which keeps a list of everyone in Ontario who is waiting for an organ transplant. Trillium Gift of Life Network will match the tissue and blood type of the donor to an individual(s) on the waiting list. If a match is found the individual(s), who for medical reasons most needs a transplant, will receive the donated organs. If the medical urgency is the same, the individual on the waiting list the longest will receive the organ. If there is no suitable match, a cross-reference is made across Canada and possibly in the United States. This is done to save lives.
Wow, I never knew how detailed OHIP was about the organ donation program. I do have to say that the name of the network/foundation is a little over the top.
Happy early birthday!! I hope you have a good day as crazy or quiet as it might be. I have found that the last couple of birthdays I've had have been a little lacklustre compared to others. I think my last memorable birthday was my 23rd. I was just starting to date D and all my closest friends showed up in town from MTL. the last 2 have been very quiet to non-existant...but it is what you make of it. So do what YOU want to do and indulge yourself :)
A bad compromise is better than a good lawsuit.