At some point before death or right after it, a health care provider may ask if the dying person is an organ donor. This means he or she agreed, at death, to donate healthy organs, such as the heart, lungs, pancreas, kidneys, cornea, liver, and skin, to living people who need them.
People of any age can be an organ donor. The person who is dying may have already indicated they would like to be an organ donor. In some states, this choice is included on a person’s driver’s license. If not, the decision has to be made quickly. There is no cost to the donor’s family.
If the dying person has a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order but wants to donate organs, he or she might have to indicate that the desire to donate supersedes the DNR.
To learn more about organ donation, visit www.organdonor.gov
