NHS Blood and Transplant (Organ Donation)

The Organ Donation website provides information about organ and tissue donation and how to register for organ donation.

Human tissue consists of cells within the body that are similar in appearance and have the same function. Donating tissue can dramatically improve the quality of life for others. As many as 50 people can be helped by the donation from one person.  Many kinds of tissue can be donated after death including skin, tendons, bone, heart valves and eyes to help repair or rebuild the lives of thousands of severely injured people. It is also possible to donate bone or amniotic membrane (part of the placenta) in certain hospitals while you are alive, during hip surgery or an elective caesarean.

Most people who are fit and healthy can donate if there is a matched person waiting for transplant.  A person cannot become an organ donor if they have or are suspected of having:

• Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD)
• Ebola virus disease
• active cancer
• HIV