Finding an organ

Organs for transplant may come from living donors in the case of a kidney or liver transplant. Other times, and at all times in cases of heart transplant, organs for transplant come from adult or child organ donors who have not survived, or will not survive, a critical illness or injury. Transplantation of these organs is called a cadaveric transplant.

Adult donors previously would have agreed to donate their organs under such circumstances. When the donor organ comes from a child, the parents have agreed to donate the organ to save another child’s life.

United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) is the organization that determines how donor organs will be distributed for a number of types of transplants, including cornea, heart, kidney, liver, lung, and pancreas.

Hospitals and medical centers across the country communicate with UNOS about their patients in need of organ transplants. The organization keeps a nationwide list of those requiring a transplant so that when a donor organ becomes available, it can match the organ with patients waiting for transplants.

UNOS allocates available organs based on the severity of the patients’ illnesses, with organs distributed to the patients most urgently in need of transplant.

Criteria have been developed to ensure that the medical need is determined and the organs are allocated fairly. When UNOS learns that patients need transplants, the potential transplant candidates are placed on a waiting list and given status codes that indicate the severity of their conditions. Those codes determine the patient’s place on the list. Those with the greatest need are placed higher and are given the highest priority when donor organs become available.

If it’s been determined that your child needs a heart transplant, the team informs UNOS so your child’s name can be placed on the list, and follows up to keep the organization informed about any changes in your child’s health status.

Each time a donor heart becomes available, a computer filters the list of people waiting for transplant and eliminates those who are not good matches for the organ. The person highest on the list of potential matches is then considered for transplant. Placement at the top of the list isn’t always a guarantee that the patient and heart will be a good match. Sometimes, even though a patient’s need may be greatest, the size of the donor organ may not be a good fit or the organ may be located too far away geographically.