The Lifesaving Process of Organ and Tissue Donation

Currently, there are more than 100,000 people in the United States on the transplant waiting list, including nearly 2,300 of our northwest neighbors, according to our local partners at LifeCenter Northwest.

If one of your organs begins to fail, doctors will study your case to ensure you are a suitable candidate for an organ transplant. You are then entered on the national transplant waiting list, which is a database that helps match donors with transplant candidates.

The factors that are considered in matching donors and recipients include blood type, body size, severity of sickness, distance from donor, tissue type and time on the list.

What is the organ donation process?

When a patient is pronounced deceased at a hospital, the hospital will contact an Organ Procurement Organization (OPO), who will then check the State Organ Donor Registry to determine if the patient is an organ donor. The OPO will notify the patient's next of kin (family) and support them through the process. If you are considering being an organ donor and are not registered, it is important to share your decision to sign up with your family, so they may carry out your wishes.

If organ donation is authorized, a medical examination is performed along with a medical and social history examination. If the patient is eligible to be an organ donor, the search for a patient on the national donors waiting list to receive a transplant. Once a match is made, the recipient's OPO will call and inform them of the match.

Transplantable organs and tissues include heart, heart valves, lungs, eyes, corneas, liver, kidneys, pancreas, small intestine, skin, bone, connective tissue and veins.

After a match is made, the hospital's surgical team recovers the organs, corneas and other tissues and transfers them to the recipient's hospital where the patient and transplant team will be waiting.

Who can donate?

Everyone can consider themselves a potential organ, eye, and tissue donor. At the time of death, your remains will be studied to determine which organs are suitable for a donation. One donor can save 8 lives and enhance the lives of 75 more, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration.

How can I register?

There are three ways to register as a donor:

• Sign up online in your state – click here to sign up for Washington. You may need your driver's license/ID number to fill out a form.
• Visit your state local motor vehicle office.
• iPhone users can also sign up through the Health app. Your information is sent to a national database.

Many lives have been changed through donations. Individuals like Alex Encila have donated their kidneys, pancreas, liver, heart, lungs, corneas and tissue to help change the lives of many. LifeCenter Northwest and EvergreenHealth were among those who enabled and supported the donation.