Almost anyone, from birth to 80 years of age. Even babies can donate the life saving gift of heart valves that can potentially save the life of two other babies. Donations from older donors, such as bone, could help others walk again or skin which could help a child survive a severe burn.


Take the following steps to ensure your decision to become a donor is carried out. Download a donor card. Sign it and carry it with you at all times.

It is crucial to tell your family members that you have decided to become a donor so that they will understand your decision and support it. Download a family notification form.


Organ donation includes the life-saving gift of solid organs such as heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and small intestines. Patients must be declared brain dead and maintained on mechanical support.

Tissue donation is a life enhancing and often life-saving gift of bone, skin, heart valves, veins and connective tissue. These gifts are surgically removed after the heart stops beating.


An allograft is human tissue that is transplanted from one person to another. The most common allograft is bone. However, tendons, skin, heart valves and corneas are a few of other common allograft tissues. Allograft tissue has been used in surgery for many years with excellent results.


Allograft tissue donation usually occurs immediately after death. Tissue donation is voluntary and represents a gift by the donor family to enhance the quality of life of other people. Informed consent is obtained from the legal next-of-kin prior to the donation process.


At all times the body is treated in a respectful manner. A team of procurement technicians removes the tissue. After removal, reconstruction is performed on all cases. Where bone has been removed from the body, it is replaced with prostheses and the areas are carefully reconstructed. This permits an open casket funeral if that is the wish of the family.


Quality assurance on all allografts begins well before the tissue is recovered. Donor Coordinators obtain a very thorough medical and social history screening from the donor’s next-of-kin or the person having the most complete and current knowledge of the potential donor’s medical and social history. This is the beginning of the careful screening for risk factors. Through this process many potential donors are disqualified for malignant cancer, infections, autoimmune disease, IV drug abuse and many other exposures or behaviors that might result in a risk to the potential recipient of the allograft tissue.

Other testing procedures include blood testing, culturing and numerous reviews of information.

These extensive procedures have been designed to insure recipient’s safety and are performed not only to meet, but also to exceed, industry standards and those required for accreditation by the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB)


Recipients are truly given a second chance at life. After receiving the allograft tissue, healing time may be shorter, chance of infection reduced and often shorter hospital stays are possible.


No. As with all donated organs, there is no charge to the donor’s family.


Yes, it is. Reconstruction is always performed to allow for open casket viewing.