Q: What organs can a living donor provide? A: A kidney is the most commonly transplanted organ from a living donor, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, or UNOS, the nonprofit group that manages the nation’s transplant system. (LifeLink of Georgia is one of 57 local organ procurement organizations that partners with UNOS).One entire kidney is removed and transplanted. Living liver donation, where a segment of the donor’s liver is transplanted, occurs less often, and the donor is usually related to the recipient. Also, in rare cases, a uterus or a segment of other organs such as a lung, can be transplanted from a living donor.
Q: What organs can a deceased donor provide? A: One donor can donate and save up to eight lives by donating organs after death. The organs that can be donated include the heart, intestines, kidneys, liver, lungs and the pancreas.
Q: What organ is most in demand? A: Kidneys are most needed and livers are second. About 83% of the people on a transplant waiting list in the U.S. are waiting for kidney transplants, and about 12% are waiting for liver transplants, according to UNOS.
Since its opening, 517 organs have been recovered from 175 donors. Already, the organ recovery center is averaging close to one more organ per donor compared to the average of organ donors who stay at local hospitals around the state.
The center receives patients from around Georgia who had made plans to be an organ donor and due to an accident or illness have been declared deceased. They are cared for and kept on mechanical support with blood and oxygen flowing, keeping organs viable until they can be transplanted. The machine is not keeping the patient alive — brain death is irreversible and is legally and medically recognized as death.
The space includes six ICU bays, two operating rooms, and private rooms for donor families. Grief and spiritual counseling are provided.
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