ORGAN DONATION

April 2001
		What does it mean to be an organ donor? Deputy Surgeon General Kenneth Moritsugu responds to your questions and comments.

Forum introduction How old is too old to be a donor? How do I find out about a specific donation? Can I be a living donor? What are the costs incurred by the family? I wish someone had asked me. Is it dangerous to be an organ donor? A message from a recipient Online Special: Organ Donation Return to the NewsHour's coverage of health	Ann Farnell of Harbor Springs, MI asks: Is there an age limit on organ donation? I am 62 going on 63. I didn't check organ donation on my license because I thought I was probably too old if I happened to die in an accident. True or not true? All organs or some or what? Dr. Kenneth Moritsugu responds: Improved science and rapid developments in organ donation and transplantation are occurring so rapidly, that it is impossible to provide a specific answer to your question. I prefer to say that each individual should decide whether to be an organ and/or tissue donor, based on his or her individual choice. When the time comes to be that donor, advances in science and medicine, as well as the donor's general health, will determine whether donation is possible. A couple of decades ago, it was unusual for an individual older than 30 or 40 to be an organ donor. Just recently, there was a successful liver transplant from a donor who was 80+ years old.