Healthcare professionals discuss lesser known facts about organ donation

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) - April is National Donate Life Month, and a healthcare expert has shared with us some lesser known facts and insights about organ donation.

According to Jenna Pringle, Senior Communication Specialist for LifeCenter Northwest, when registering to become an organ donor, there may be some preconceived notions of what may be donated such as the heart, liver or lungs. But that’s not all.

“You can actually heal up to 75 people or more with tissue donations, and that tissue would include skin, veins, ligaments, bones and tendons,” Pringle explained. “These are all things used in dental procedures, ACL repairs, and the skin is used to help treat burn victims to help them heal.”

Along with tissue, cornea transplants can help restore and individual’s sight. But the conditions to be eligible for donations are very specific, with less than 1% of deaths even allowing for that possibility.

“To able to be be an organ donor, you would need to pass away in a hospital,” Pringle elaborated, “and typically what happens is that it’s almost always a certain tragedy, some sort of traumatic injury, that results in brain death where you aren’t able to recover from your injuries. So you will be declared legally and clinically deceased, and that’s the only time that you are really able to be considered for donation.”

According to Pringle, the choice to become a registered donor should be discussed with family and loved ones. “They know what’s going to come next, they know that they might be talking to some healthcare professionals about the potential to donate your organs or tissue, and it will come as such a shock. [Better that] they’re not faced with the burden of making one more difficult decision when they’re facing incredible loss.”