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Deceased
Donor
A deceased organ or tissue donor who is usually unrelated to
the recipient.
Declaration
of Death
Declaration of death is performed by the donor's physician and
is the official time of death. Death of a patient is determined
when there is an absence of cardiovascular and respiratory functions
or when there is an absence of all brain function, including
lack of function of the brain stem. Physicians make the determination
of death based on standard medical practice.
Demographic Information
Patient and donor data such as gender, age, ethnicity.
Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS)
This department of the federal government is responsible for
health-related programs and issues.
Directed Donation
Donors or donor families can specify transplant recipients under a procedure known as "directed donation." It is specifically permitted under most state laws governing anatomical gifts. To receive a directed donation the recipient would have to be formally accepted for a transplant by a transplant center and would have to be medically compatible (blood type, size, etc.) with the donor. While most laws do not place any added restrictions, ethically it is best to specify an individual recipient by name. (Source: Organ Procurement Organization)
Division of Transplantation (DOT)
The office of the Federal government whose principal responsibilities
include the management of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation
Network (OPTN), the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients
(SRTR) and the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) contracts;
public education to increase organ/tissue donation; and technical
assistance to Organ
Procurement Organizations (OPOs).
Donation
Is the act of giving one's organs or tissue to someone else.
Donation After Cardiac Death
Donation After Cardiac Death allows for the recovery of liver,
kidneys, pancreas and tissues from patients who have suffered
a devastating non-recoverable illness or injury and are ventilator
dependent, but do not technically meet the criteria to be declared
brain dead. This type of donation is offered to families only
after the decision has been made to remove the patient from
life support. The recovery of organs takes place after the patient
has been declared dead based on the absence of all cardiovascular
and respiratory function.
Donor
A deceased or living donor in the range of newborn to a 90-year
old who provides cells and/or tissue for transplantation in
accordance with established medical criteria and procedures. |
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Electrolyte
A substance that will dissociate into ions in solution and acquire the capacity to conduct electricity. The electrolytes include sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium and phosphate. Informally, called lytes. (The clue to the word electrolyte is in the lyte which comes from the Greek lytos meaning that may be dissolved.)
End-Stage Organ Disease
A disease that leads, ultimately, to functional failure of an organ. Some examples are emphysema (lungs), cardiomyopathy (heart), and polycystic kidney disease (kidneys). |
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Family Consent
Requested for donation in New York State. All organ and tissue donors, regardless of any documentation, must inform their families of their decisions so that their wishes may be fulfilled.
Fees
See Payment
Femoral Vein
The large vein in the groin that carries blood from the lower extremities (legs) to the heart.
Full Body Donation
Most medical schools accept bodies donated for research or teaching purposes. If one makes this decision, the medical school will send you a non-binding consent form. If your immediate family does not consent, the school will not pursue donation.
Fusion
In spinal surgery, fusion means that two vertebrae are joined together to make one. The surgical technique is designed so that the body fuses the two bones into one. See Fusion, Cervical and Fusion, Lumbar
Fusion, Cervical
A neurosurgical procedure performed to relieve pressure on one or more nerve roots in the neck or on the spinal cord. It involves stabilizing two or more vertebrae by locking (fusing) them together. The fusion stops the vertebral motion (neck movement) that causes chronic pain. Allograft bone is often used for this operative procedure. See Fusion
Fusion, Lumbar
A type of back surgery that places bone either in the front and/or along the back of the spine so that the bone grows together and fuses the spine. Fusing the spine is designed to decrease back pain by limiting the motion at a painful motion segment. |
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Graft
An organ or tissue transplanted from one individual to another of the same species. |
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Harvest or Harvesting
Term no longer used by organ and tissue donor families.
See Recover
Health Care Proxy
In New York State, an agent may be designated to act on a patient's behalf, should he or she become incapacitated.
Health Care Proxy Forms
Available online from the New York State Department of Health at www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/donor/index.htm. The forms include space for individuals to note instructions about organ donation, along with other vital health-care decisions to be made by their proxy.
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
HRSA, an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, is charged with overseeing the Office of Special Programs, which in turn oversees the Division of Transplantation. HRSA helps provide health resources for medically under-served populations. HRSA supports a nationwide network of 643 community and migrant health centers, and 144 primary care programs for the homeless and residents of public housing, serving 8.1 million Americans each year. HRSA also works to build the health care workforce and maintains the National Health Service Corps, oversees the nation's organ transplantation system, works to decrease infant mortality and improve child health and provides services to people with AIDS through the Ryan White CARE Act programs.
Heart
A muscular organ that pumps blood through the body. The heart can be donated and transplanted.
Heart valves
A tissue that prevents the back flow of blood into the heart.
The heart valves can be donated and transplanted.
Histocompatibility (HLA System)
The examination of human leukocyte antigens (HLA) in a patient, often referred to as "tissue typing" or "genetic matching." Tissue typing is routinely performed for all donors and recipients in kidney and pancreas transplantation to help match the donor with the most suitable recipients to help decrease the likelihood of rejecting the transplanted organ. |
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Iliac Arteries
Branches of the aorta supplying blood to the pelvis.
Immunosuppressive Drugs
Chemical agents that cause the human body not to produce antibodies that normally fight off foreign material in the body. The production of these antibodies needs to be suppressed in order to permit the acceptance of a donor organ by the recipient's body.
Informed Consent
The process of reaching an agreement based on a full disclosure and full understanding of what will take place. Informed consent has components of disclosure, comprehension, competence and voluntary response. Informed consent often refers to the process by which one makes decisions regarding medical procedures including the decision to donate the organs of a loved one. In terms of organ donation in New York State, this is a procedure whereby information concerning the donation process is presented to the donor's next-of-kin with an opportunity for them to ask questions, after which specific approval is documented.
Intestines
The portion of the digestive tract extending from the stomach
to the anus, consisting of upper and lower segments. The intestines
can be donated and transplanted.
Islet Cells Transplants
In a surgical procedure, this is defined as the placing of the beta (islet) cells from the pancreas of one person into the pancreas of another. Islet cells produce insulin that the body needs to use glucose for energy. In the future, the transplantation of islet cells may help people with diabetes. Presently, however, the transplantation of islet cells is only in the research stage. In the New York metropolitan area, for example, New York Presbyterian Hospital and the Mount Sinai Medical Center have initiated research programs to refine the techniques for isolating the islet cells from the pancreas. Once they have established these techniques and obtained the appropriate approvals (from the FDA, etc), they will begin clinical trials for their pancreas islet cell transplant programs.
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