What is tissue donation?
Tissue donation is when parts of the body such as skin, bone and heart valves are donated to improve or save someone’s life. Bone can be donated during life (as part of a hip replacement), but most tissues are donated after death by people who have decided that they would like to give other people the chance to live on.
What tissue can be donated during life?
In some hospitals patients who are having hip replacement surgery are asked if they are willing to donate the bone that is going to be removed during their operation. This bone can be used for grafts for patients who have lost bone due to disease, trauma or from previous surgery. It can make a real difference to the patient’s life – giving them health and mobility.
Another “living” tissue that can be donated is the amniotic membrane that surrounds a baby inside the womb. This tissue can be used for sight-saving operations and is obtained after a planned caesarean section with the mother’s consent. A single membrane can help up to 60 patients.
What tissue can be donated after death?
There are various types of tissue that can be donated after death.
Heart valves can be transplanted to save the lives of patients, including young children, suffering from diseased or damaged valves.
Skin can help save the lives of severely burned victims. Skin grafts help to reduce pain, and prepare the underlying tissues for later cosmetic grafting. They also help to reduce scarring in these patients. To treat a severely burned patient many skin donations are required.
Tendons can be used to repair badly damaged knee joints after sporting injuries.
Bone is extremely important for grafts used in operations. It can reduce patients' pain, and help people to move again. Every year about 10,000 bone transplants are performed.
Cornea transplants help people suffering from severe eye disease or injury. One cornea donor can help two people see again. Corneas are stored in specialist banks for up to 30 days, which allows time for important tests to determine if the cornea is safe and good enough to be used for transplant. Each year about 2,500 cornea transplants are performed, but nearer 3,000 are necessary to meet patients’ needs.
Most people who join the NHS Organ Donor Register choose to donate all organs and tissue, including their corneas.
Why is it important to donate tissue?
It is important that tissue is donated because it can provide many benefits to patients such as relieving their pain, helping them to see, walk again, return to work and lead a full and active life. Lives can also be saved with tissue transplants.
Who can donate tissue?
Most people can be considered for tissue donation after death. The donor’s medical and behavioural history is reviewed to ensure that donated tissue is as safe as possible to reduce the risk of transmitting disease to a patient. A blood sample will be taken from the donor so it can be tested for viruses such as HIV and hepatitis. Specially-trained organ or tissue donor co-ordinators will carry out interviews with the family of the donor to ensure that the donor and their family’s wishes are carried out. It is important to discuss your wishes with your family so that they can confirm your wishes to medical staff after your death.
Can tissue be donated just for medical research and development purposes?
Tissue which is unsuitable for transplantation may sometimes be donated and used for medical research and development, but only with permission from the donor family.
It is sometimes possible to offer to donate tissue purely for medical research. But only if that is the express wish of the donor and their family. It would need to be arranged with the organ or tissue transplant coordinator.
