What is organ donation?
People with a poorly functioning or non-functioning organ can sometimes be helped with an organ transplant. An organ transplant requires a donor organ. What exactly is organ donation?
What is organ donation?
Organs are important parts of your body, for example the heart and the lungs. Each organ has its own task. Together, the organs ensure that your body works properly and that you are alive. With organ donation, someone gives an organ to a person whose organ is not working (well).
Someone who gives an organ is called an organ donor. The donor is almost always deceased in the case of organ donation. Sometimes someone donates an organ while they are still alive. This is called living donation. Living donation is only possible if someone donates a kidney or part of the liver. If you are deceased, you can donate these organs: liver, heart, lungs, pancreas, small intestine, and kidneys.
What is organ donation for?
Someone who donates organs after death helps other people who are very ill. These people can only stay alive if they receive a donor organ, such as lungs, a liver, or a heart. During an operation, a doctor places the healthy donor organ into the body of the sick patient. This is called an organ transplant.
Every year, about 1,400 people in the Netherlands receive a donor organ. There are more people who need an organ transplant than there are donor organs. That is why there is a waiting list with more than 1,500 people on it.
'With the transplant, Lorenzo was born again'
Baby Lorenzo is alive thanks to the liver of a living donor.
Read Lorenzo's story
Can everyone donate organs?
Whether someone can donate organs depends on many different factors. For example, someone must always die in the hospital to be able to donate organs. And the organs must still be good enough for a transplant. A doctor checks whether the organs are suitable when someone passes away.
Frequently asked questions about organ donation
Can you be an organ donor if you have an illness?
Yes, even if you are ill or use medication, you can be an organ donor after your death. Medication or an illness can influence which organs you can donate. When an organ donor passes away, a doctor always checks which organs are suitable for a transplant.
Up to what age can someone be an organ donor?
Age is often not that important when it comes to organ donation. You can donate from birth to a very old age. The most important thing is whether the organs are still healthy enough for a transplant. A doctor will examine this if someone is a potential organ donor.
Can you still donate organs if you live an unhealthy lifestyle?
Yes, even if you live an unhealthy lifestyle, you can sometimes still donate organs. If a donor organ does not arrive in time for someone on the waiting list, that patient will die. In that case, for example, a smoker's lungs may still be better than the patient's own diseased lungs. And the liver of someone who drank alcohol can sometimes still help a liver patient. A doctor will examine beforehand whether the organs and tissues are still suitable for transplantation.
Can I choose who I donate my organs to after my death?
No, you cannot choose yourself who receives your organs or tissues after your death. That is how it is arranged by law. One reason for this is that everyone in the Netherlands should be able to receive the same healthcare. An organ goes to the patient on the waiting list who needs the organ most urgently and for whom the organ is the best match.
What is the chance that I can be a donor?
Not everyone who is registered in the Donor Register with consent actually becomes a donor. The chance that someone can donate after death is not very high. There is only a 1 in 200 chance that someone who is registered in the Donor Register with consent will become an organ donor after death. There are several reasons why organ donation does not happen often. An organ donor must always die in an intensive care (IC) unit of a hospital and be kept on a ventilator. And the organs must still be suitable for transplantation.