Could you donate an organ while you are still alive?

1. 94

   aDayInMyLife1posted 12 years ago

   Could you donate an organ while you are still alive?
   
   Humans can live with one kidney, and can survive even after donating part of their liver or lung. This is a bit different than being an organ donar, where they take your organs after you are dead. Could you donate your organs while living, and sacrifice some quality of life, but potentially save the life of another?

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2. 65

   naeemebrahimjeeposted 12 years ago

   Simple answer is yes because like you said you can give away a kidney.
   
   Other then that though there are no organs you can completely remove and give away and live a normal life. If you give away an organ you will need one to replace it.
   
   
   It is possible, but very difficult to survive with one lung....so i wouldn't really say that was a realistic option.

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3. 72

   Woody Marxposted 12 years ago

   I suspect there are a number of people who have donated their brains while they are still alive, especially among celebrities. 
   
   Personally I wouldn't mind donating my hair to science while I am still alive, so long as they gave me some new hair in return that was more manageable.
   
   I'd also donate my excess-fat if anyone wants it and wouldn't even ask for a receipt. They are welcome to it.

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   1. 58

      tussinposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I am currently in need of a brain. Paris Hilton's will do.

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   2. 53

      frumpletonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I'd like a really smart brain like Einstein's

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4. 56

   Alma Cabaseposted 12 years ago

   It depends on the organ. You'll definitely die if your heart is taken out and transferred to another body.

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   1. 94

      aDayInMyLife1posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Assuming you will still live but the quality of your life wouldn't be as great.

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5. 68

   novascotiamissposted 12 years ago

   I would definitely consider this if a person that is close to me depended on it and I would still have a good quality of life after the donation. I have signed up as an organ donour after death and I feel that everybody should do that. I also used to donate blood regularly but had to give up for health reasons.

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6. 0

   Garifaliaposted 12 years ago

   There's a very interesting commercial here in Greece to promote oragan donating and it goes like this:
   
   doctor: "How do you feel about organ donating?"
   patient: "I'm not against it at all....but I'm just not at the point where I can donate, yet."
   doctor: "Well, that's alright. [silence] Your test results came in and you need to have a transplant."
   
   I often place myself in that position, but still it's a scary idea. If it were for a loved one, however, I'd do it at the blink of an eye.
   
   Is that selfish? It may be....but I think it's to be expected.

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7. 50

   sweetie1posted 12 years ago

   As you rightly put that you can donate one kidney. As doctors say, you don't need two kidneys as one kidney would serve you just fine. Two kidneys are there so that in case one is destroyed by some disease or trauma then second can keep you alive. Same way you can donate a part of liver too. Liver has high regenerative powers and it can regenerate quickly.

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8. 50

   padmendraposted 12 years ago

   Donating part of your body like kidney, liver or lung happens in two  conditions - one  the person critically is  in need of ,money or one of your loves ones needs life. Even selling of human organs is noticed  for  getting money by the people of low incomde though it is prohibited by law. When one kidney is donated, the donating person  can live comfortably with just one kidney. But no doubt the quality of life decreases which is a bitter truth. I would certainly do it  to save life of my loved one but it depends on the advice of a doctor to see that the donating part is free from any  infection. .

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9. 58

   tussinposted 12 years ago

   People do this for family and close friends all the time, but it would be weird to be a living donor for the general public. 
   
   What if you donated a kidney but then you got seriously injured and your only remaining kidney was compromised? You wouldn't have a back-up kidney. Or what if your sibling got sick and needed a kidney, but you had already donated one to a stranger previously? Now your sibling is out of luck.  I think this is why people wait until they are dead to donate their organs to strangers. Family first.

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   1. 53

      frumpletonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I agree

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10. 73

    Trish303posted 12 years ago

    Yes I could if it was a family member or a friend, or a child, and maybe more. I cloud not stand by a watch some I cared for or a child die if I know i cloud help.

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11. 61

    peachpowerposted 12 years ago

    I could and would, assuming I met the criteria to do so. There is no way I could stand to watch someone I love suffering if I have a way to stop it.
    
    My father has CLL (he's in complete remission now, thank god), and I was asking about getting tested to find out if I was a match for a bone marrow transplant if it came to that. Turns out that a.) HE didn't meet the criteria, and neither do I because I have ulcerative colitis, which is an autoimmune disorder. However, I think in the case of a different organ, like a kidney, or a lobe of my liver/lung, they can use it since it's not producing faulty stem cells.
    
    I would be thrilled to give someone their life, or a better quality of life. Absolutely.

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12. 0

    Larry Wallposted 12 years ago

    The living can donate a kidney, part of a liver, bone marrow and possibly a cornea, if the optic nerve to the eye is damaged and there is no sight in the eye. The laws probably vary from state to state.

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13. 53

    frumpletonposted 8 years ago

    I think you can donate but I think it's illegal to sell an organ.  The government owns us, after all.  They don't care if you give away a kidney or something when you're dead (might not be healthy enough to survive the transplant, since it's from a corpse) but if it's from the living, they'd probably want you to pay taxes or social security on it.

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