Everything you need to know about tissue donation.
There is something truly empowering about doing good, isn’t there? That feeling you get when you’re doing something kind or helpful for someone else, without expecting anything in return, is pretty magical.
FAQ
Cornea and Scleral Tissue Donation
What is the cornea?
The cornea is the eye’s outermost layer. It is the thin, transparent dome-shaped surface of the eye that covers the iris (coloured part of the eye), pupil and anterior chamber. The cornea forms the protective covering of the eye and focuses most of the incoming light.
Scleral tissue is the dense connective tissue of the eyeball that forms the ‘white’ of the eye. Scleral tissue can be recovered if a whole eye and not just a cornea is donated.
How do we see?
When light first enters the eye it is bent (refracted) by the cornea. It then becomes focused by the lens, before being projected onto the retina where the stimulation is interpreted by the brain as a visual picture or image. The cornea is the eye’s outermost lens and focuses light onto a light-sensitive membrane called the retina, just as a camera lens focusses light onto film.
How does a cornea become damaged or cloudy?
The cornea may become damaged or cloudy through disease, degeneration, infection or injury. This scarring or discolouration causes impaired vision by blocking or distorting light as it enters the eye. Vision becomes dramatically reduced, and in some cases, blindness may result. Severe damage to the cornea also impairs the protection of the eye from the drying environment and against infection.
What is a cornea transplant?
It is a microscopic surgical procedure during which all or part of a damaged (injured or diseased) cornea is removed and replaced with healthy donor corneal tissue. It is also known as keratoplasty or a corneal graft.
How is scleral tissue used?
Scleral tissue is used for ocular graft surgery in the treatment of cancer.
Who needs a corneal transplant?
Adults, and children (even babies) may need cornea transplants, for a variety of reasons, such as:
- cornea failure due to hereditary conditions such as keratoconus (a thinning or steep curving of the cornea) or Fuchs’ dystrophy (where the cornea swells and thickens due to fluid build-up
- scarring of the cornea due to trauma or injury; ulceration (a painful sore on the cornea); or previous eye surgery
- age affecting the clarity and health of the cornea.
The need for donated corneas in South Africa increases every year and there is a constant shortage of donors. This means that hundreds of people who are unable to live productive lives due to poor sight or corneal blindness are waiting for the gift of tissue donation.
How are corneas and scleral tissue recovered?
It takes about 30 minutes to recover donated corneal and eye tissue and to preserve the donor’s appearance.
Recovery is done by qualified recovery technicians.
Arrangements for this tissue recovery do not compromise funeral arrangements and corneas can be recovered in hospital, at the funeral home or mortuary. Normally the recovery technician will make the arrangements with the recovery site.
A thorough medical history is required to evaluate whether the scleral tissue and/or corneas are suitable for donation.
Bone, Tendons and Cartilage
What is bone donation?
Bone is the second most commonly used donated tissue. The long bones and tenons in our limbs can restore mobility in others.
How is bone, tendons and cartilage recovered?
The long bones in the arms and legs, tendons and cartilage are surgically removed by a qualified recovery technician. Prostheses are used to reconstruct the limbs and the body is treated with dignity during recovery.
What is it used for?
Bone is implanted or transplanted into patients who have suffered bone loss through diseases such as cancer or arthritis, trauma, injury or joint replacement surgery. Bone implants or transplants – called allografts – can:
- assist with fracture healing
- repair or improve mobility
- decrease pain
- prevent amputation for patients with bone cancer
- reduce or repair bone loss and create stabilisation in areas affected by knee and hip surgery
- be used to reconstruct facial and limb defects, asdefects, as well as spinal deformities
Cartilage is often used for facial and other post-traumatic injury reconstruction.
Tendons are used to rebuild damaged joints.
Allograft is widely used by orthopaedic, spinal, neuro, reconstructive and maxillofacial surgeons. While not necessarily life-saving, bone, tendon and cartilage donation is life-enhancing.
Skin Donation
Our skin - a SUPERHERO!
Besides being the largest organ of the body, our skin serves as a protective shield to protect our bodies against germs and harmful environmental effects, while maintaining a healthy hydrated state by retaining moisture.
It also regulates our body temperature and allows us to feel sensations such as touch, warmth, cold and pain.
How is donated skin used?
Donated skin is used as skin grafts to treat patients with severe burn wounds. Skin, used as a ‘biological bandage’, is applied on burnt areas. This gives the patient immediate wound cover to prevent infection and loss of moisture.
Saving lives with skin.
Treating burn wounds with donated skin is medically recognised as the most effective way to minimise scarring and promote healing of severe burns.
Heart Valve Donation
What is heart valve donation?
Heart valves (both pulmonary and aortic) can be recovered from the heart after death and used to replace or repair poorly functioning heart valves in babies, young children and adults.
Why do heart valves need to be replaced?
Babies are often born with genetic (or congenital) valve defects. In older children and adults, illness can damage heart valves, causing reduced heart valve function which seriously impact the performance of the heart.
Untreated, heart valve defects lead to compromised heart function, vastly reduced quality of life and often results in chronic disability and death.
Human heart valves - the best option.
Heart valves made from synthetic material and animal tissue are used in heart valve repair surgeries due to a constant shortage of donated human hearts.
While these options are effective, human heart valves are preferable because there is less risk of rejection and valves are more resistant to infection.
Patients also do not have to use blood-thinning medication constantly. This is especially important for women of childbearing age and children.
Human heart valves, also known as ‘homografts’ are increasingly needed and used for heart valve repair.
Important differencesbetween tissue and organ donation
Tissue is recovered after cardiac death
Organ donation is highly complex and can only take place if the potential donor is:
- in hospital;
- has been certified to have suffered brain-stem death; and
- healthcare professionals can sustain the donor though mechanical support and medication to ensure that organs are suitable for transplantation.
In contrast, tissue recovery takes place after cardiac death, and it does not matter whether a potential tissue donor passes away in or out of hospital.
Many more people can be tissue donors
Potential organ donors are very carefully screened before decisions are made. Several issues such as illness, cause and manner of death influences the suitability of an organ donor. Donated organs also must be matched to a potential recipient for a successful transplant.
As a result, a very small percentage of people can be organ donors when they die.
While potential tissue donors are also thoroughly screened, donated tissue does not have to be matched to a recipient. Anyone can donate to anyone.
There is more time for tissue donation
Organs must be recovered and transplanted in a hospital, within a few hours to ensure that the organs remain viable.
It is possible to recover tissue (depending on the type of tissue) up to 48 hours after death. In the case of bone donation, tissue can be recovered up to five days after death. Recovery can take place in a hospital, at a mortuary or at a funeral home.
So many more patients can benefit
While a single organ donor can potentially save 7 people, a single tissue donor can help more than 65 people.
Tissue donation can save the lives of burn victims, restore sight, avoid amputation, improve mobility and prolong life.
Be the change to someone's story.
Say yes to organ and tissue donation – because everyone deserves a second chance.