Efforts to save your life will not be lessened if you wish to be an organ donor. A patient's family will be approached about organ donation only after physicians have exhausted all efforts to save his or her life and death has been declared. The medical team that treats patients is separate from the transplant team, and the patient has to be declared brain dead by physicians not affiliated with the transplant recovery team.
Donations occur under strict operating room guidelines.
Brain death is the total, irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem, which controls respiration. The OPO will perform an on-sight evaluation and determine the viability of organ donation. The OPO will not notify a transplant team of available organs until a family member gives consent to do so. Organ donations can only occur if the organs of a brain dead person are kept viable through artificial support. If circulation stops, the organs become damaged and unsuitable for transplantation.