Organ Donation

Organ donation is the process of giving an organ or a part of an organ for the purpose of transplantation into another person.
In order for a person to become an organ donor, blood and oxygen must flow through the organs until the time of recovery to ensure viability. This requires that a person die under circumstances that have resulted in an irreparable neurological injury, usually from massive trauma to the brain such as aneurysm, stroke or automobile accident. Only after all efforts to save the patient’s life have been exhausted, tests are performed to confirm the absence of brain or brain stem activity, and brain death has been declared, is donation a possibility. The state donor registry is searched to determine if the patient has personally consented to donation. If the potential donor is not found on the registry, his or her legally authorized representative (usually a spouse, relative or close friend) is offered the opportunity to authorize the donation. Once the donation decision is established, the family is asked to provide a medical and social history. Donation professionals determine which organs can be transplanted and to which patients on the national transplant waiting list the organs are to be allocated.
Organ donation can occur with:

• a deceased donor, who can give kidneys, pancreas, liver, lungs, heart, intestinal organs
• a living donor, who can give a kidney, or a portion of the liver, lung, intestine, or pancreas

Being a Living Donor

Living Organ Donation

What Is a Living Donor?

Because the number of organs donated by deceased donors is not enough to meet the needs of patients awaiting organ transplants, people sometimes offer to donate an organ or part of an organ to a loved one or friend. This is what is known as being a living donor.
Living organ donation is possible because certain organs are able to either regenerate themselves, or continue to function well when a section is removed. Transplant teams throughout the country have developed new techniques and procedures to save more patients' lives through living donor transplants.
Living donations are handled by each individual transplant center where the recipient is waiting.
It is currently possible for a living person to donate:

• a kidney
• a portion of the liver
• a lobe of a lung
• a portion of the intestine
• in some rare instances, a portion of their pancreas

Currently, living organ donors account for almost half (45%) of all organ donation in the United States.

How Do I Become a Living Donor?

Any healthy adult can become a living donor, regardless of race or gender. This means they must be relatively physically fit and free from chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease. The donor's blood type must also be compatible with that of the intended recipient. Potential living donors are carefully considered in terms of fully understanding the physical and psychological risks that come with being a living donor.

Update

I would like to thank everyone who has purchased a t-shirt so far. The first group has been ordered and should be mailed out shortly.

Big thanks to Dr. Santella at Avera for all his help with my fund raising.

Still working on my route, upgrading parts on the bike, and looking into either a bivvy or single person tent. (never know might get stuck between towns on the route and camp out somewhere.)

Still looking up TV stations, and newspapers companies on the route to try and set up a interview to explain my journey and talk about organ donation.