Can an infants organs be donated?

Grieving parents are finding hope in neonatal organ donation, a practice that retrieves tissues and organs from babies who die at or soon after birth.

Can you donate organs if you are not brain dead?

Patients who have severe brain injuries but who are not brain dead may still be organ donors if the patient, by advance directive, or the patient’s family decides that life support should be withdrawn. After that decision is made, consent for organ donation is obtained.

What organs can be donated after brain death?

Brain death is permanent and irreversible. It is a legal definition of death. However, the vital organs such as the heart, lungs, liver, pancreas and kidneys can be kept viable for a few days if supported by artificial or mechanical support.

What does brain death have to do with organ donation?

Brain Death The majority of deceased organ donations take place after a physician has declared the patient to be brain dead. According to the American Academy of Neurology, brain death is the irreversible loss of clinical function of the brain, including the brain stem, and is a legal declaration of death.

Can a baby born with anencephaly donate organs?

About 1,000 anencephalic babies are born in the United States each year, and there is a shortage of hearts, livers and kidneys for transplantation in children. Organs may now be donated by anencephalic babies after death, but at that point the organs have deteriorated and cannot be used.

Can you donate tissue while alive?

You can donate some organs and tissues while you’re alive. Most living donations happen between family members or close friends.

How many lives can be saved by a brain dead donor normally?

One organ donor can save up to eight lives.

How long can a baby without a brain live?

Anencephaly is a fatal condition. Most babies with anencephaly pass away before birth, and the pregnancy ends in miscarriage. Babies born with anencephaly die within a few hours, days or weeks. Infants who survive at birth may seem to respond to touch or sound, but these responses are involuntary.