When does organ and tissue donation become an option?

Registering to be an organ donor can
help save the lives of others!

You can become an eye and/or tissue donor within 24 hours after your death. By law, all deaths in designated facilities such as hospitals, must be reported to the Human Tissue Gift Agencies in order for them to determine suitability for donation. Your medical records will be reviewed and appropriate health care professionals involved in your care will be interviewed to determine suitability for donation.

If it is determined that you are suitable to be a donor, a tissue transplant coordinator or eye bank technician will contact your family to discuss with them the opportunity to honour your wishes. Having your wishes readily accessible to the Human Tissue Gift Agencies by recording them in the online donor registry, will help the tissue and eye bank staff in the donation discussion with your family.

However, if no documented evidence of your wishes can be found and you are a suitable candidate for donation, your family will still be contacted so that they can make a direction on your behalf.

Register at www.signupforlife.ca

To be an organ donor you must reach brain death. Most organ donors suffer a stroke or bleeding in the brain or have an accident or head trauma that causes the brain death. When a person in hospital is declared brain dead, or is progressing toward brain death, the intensive care medical team will raise the possibility of donation with the family. Sometimes the family brings up the topic of donation themselves.

If the family is interested, a member of the Transplant Manitoba – Gift of Life team will come to speak with them. The family is given time to make a decision. If they agree to donation, there is some paperwork to confirm the donation and which organs may be retrieved.

In some cases, you may be eligible to be an organ, tissue, and eye donor. If this is the case, all three human tissue gift agencies are involved.