Donation Education

Facts about Tissue Donation

Donated tissue can dramatically improve the quality of life for recipients, and even save lives. Tissue includes bone, skin, heart valves, connective tissue and veins used in surgeries and medical research.

Most tissues are donated after death by people who previously committed to donation. Unlike organs, tissues can be donated up to 24 hours after a person's heart has stopped beating.

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• Tissues may be recovered up to 24 hours after death.
• Most tissues can be preserved for up to five years before use.
• Generally, blood type matching is not required in tissue transplantation. Unlike organs, most tissue implants undergo extensive preparation prior to transplantation. During this process, living cells such as blood and bone marrow are removed from the tissue. The absence of living cellular material makes the chance of rejection extremely low, and anti-rejection drugs are usually not prescribed.
• As many as 100 tissue recipients may benefit from a single donor.
• There are more than 2,500 tissue transplant surgeries occurring every day in the United States.
• There is no official waiting list for those in need of a tissue transplant. Hundreds of thousands of individuals need tissue transplants to repair injuries and improve the quality of their life, and they receive the transplant based on availability of suitable grafts and the patient’s need.
• Bone and connective tissue transplants help repair defects, eliminate or reduce pain and promote faster healing. Donated heart valves replace defective valves and improve heart function.