Frequently asked questions

Deceased donation is the process of giving one's organs and/or tissue at the time of death for the purpose of transplantation to another person. Donation can also be for the purposes of research or medical education.

By registering consent for organ and tissue donation, you give hope to the thousands of Ontarians waiting for a transplant. Individuals on the transplant wait list are suffering from organ failure and without the generous gift of life from an organ donor, they will die. Tissue donors can also enhance the lives of recovering burn survivors, help restore sight, and allow people to walk again. Transplants not only save lives, they return recipients to productive lives.

Though everyone has the potential to be an organ donor, the reality is that the opportunity for organ donation is rare. Only 2-3% of hospital deaths occur in a way that allows for donation, as deceased organ donation can only take place when an individual dies in a hospital and on a ventilator. Vital organs require blood flow in order to keep them suitable for transplant.

There is a far greater opportunity for tissue donation, which is possible if an individual passes away in a hospital (but not on a ventilator) or at home. Tissue includes eyes, bone, skin and heart valves.

In Ontario, those willing to become deceased organ and tissue donors should register their decision online or through ServiceOntario. At the time of death, your family or next of kin will be consulted regarding your wishes to become an organ and tissue donor. It is important to have a conversation with your family, so they are confident when asked about your organ and tissue donation wishes.

Transplantation is always prioritized, but when organs or tissue are not suitable for transplant, they can be used for research specific to the field of organ and tissue donation and transplantation. When you consent to organ and tissue donation for transplantation, consent for research is optional. You can opt out of research by not checking the research box when registering, or you can opt in by ensuring the research box is selected and a checkmark appears.

No. Body donation means that your whole body is donated to a School of Anatomy for educational and research purposes. Donating your body to science is different from donating organs and tissues to a living person. For more information, visit the Ontario website.

Organs and tissue that can be donated include the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, pancreas, small intestines, eyes, heart valves, tendons, bone and ligaments, and skin (paper-thin layer from the back of the body). You also have the option to exclude specific organs and tissues from being donated when you register.

Everyone is a potential donor regardless of age or medical condition. Even individuals with serious illnesses can sometimes be donors. Your decision to register should not be based on whether you think you would be eligible or not. All potential donors are evaluated on an individual, medical, case-by-case basis.

Eligibility to donate is assessed at the time of death from information obtained during a medical social questionnaire completed with families. In addition, every organ is tested for suitability to ensure that as many people as possible can be helped through transplant.

Some ethnicities are at greater risk for liver, kidney, and/or heart disease. In some cases, an organ transplant may be necessary.

Matches are NOT based on race, but compatible blood types and tissue markers are more likely to be found in people of the same ethnicity. Unfortunately, racialized people are under-represented among organ and tissue donors. Despite accounting for over 34 per cent of the population in Ontario, only about 20 per cent of donors come from racialized communities.

The more people who register as donors, and the greater the diversity, the better the chances of matching donated organs and tissue to recipients in need.

Almost all religions support gestures that save or preserve the lives of others, and donors have come from all different religions. Religious restrictions may not include organ and tissue donation if the donation could save a life. Specialized health professionals in donation can work with your family to honour religious practices as donation moves forward. Please consult your religious leader if you are uncertain.

Ontario Health (TGLN) coordinates organ and tissue donation and transplantation for the province. Though everyone has the potential to become a donor, the chance for donation is rare as death usually must occur within an ICU setting in a hospital. Only 2-3% of hospital deaths occur this way, making you six times more likely to require an organ transplant in your lifetime than to have the opportunity to donate one.

When a person experiences a significant medical event (like a stroke or severe head injury) leading to “brain death” or “cardiac death.” and all life-saving treatments are exhausted or are prolonging a person’s life without improving the underlying condition, the health care team and family may make a consensual decision to stop treatment. At this time, the following will happen:

• The Ministry of Health database is checked to see if the patient has registered as a donor.
• If the person is registered, this information is shared with the family, who are asked to reaffirm the patient’s decision. Once consent is given by the family or next-of-kin, medical tests and a medical and social history questionnaire is completed with the family to determine what organs and tissues may be suitable for transplant.
• Once the assessments are complete and the medical teams and resources are available, the organs are matched with someone on the transplant waitlist and the recovery surgery takes place in an operating room at the hospital.
• The entire donation process, from the time the family is approached about donation to recovery of donated organs, can take 24 to 96 hours to complete.
• Once the donation and transplantation are complete, arrangements for funeral and memorial preparation and services can be made.
• Recipients are followed closely by their medical team to ensure the health of the patient and their newly transplanted organ.
• At the end of the donation journey, donor families and recipients can communicate anonymously through the Donor Family Team at Ontario Health (TGLN).

When you register your consent to donate, this information is recorded and stored in a Ministry of Health database. Your decision will only be accessed should there be potential for donation, and your status as a registered donor will be shared with your family. It is Ontario Health (Trillium Gift of Life Network) practice to reaffirm an individual's consent to donate with the family. In most cases, families honour their loved ones' decision to donate if they have evidence that it's what they wanted.

Register as an organ donor and talk to your family about your wishes; one day this act could save a life.

There are no costs to the donor’s family for organ and tissue donation. Expenses related to funeral arrangements remain the responsibility of the donor’s family.

The body is released and funeral arrangements can continue as planned.

Open casket funeral and cremation are both still possible. Organ and tissue donation does not impact funeral plans.

• Organ recovery from the abdomen or chest usually involves one surgical incision that clothing would cover
• When corneas are donated, the whole globe of the eye is typically removed. Funeral homes provide eye caps to maintain the shape and form of the eyes when they are closed
• The appearance of the skin after recovery is similar to that of sunburn. A paper-thin layer of skin is removed from the back of the body permitting an open casket funeral

Before patients are referred to a transplant centre to be considered for the transplant waitlist, they must meet a variety of criteria that considers both health and lifestyle.

In order to ensure that a transplant has the greatest chance of success, transplant recipients must follow many specialized recommendations for medications and vaccinations that reduce the risk of harm from infection after transplant. These are determined by experts in each Ontario transplant centre based on internationally accepted guidance for safe transplant.

Each transplant centre makes recommendations for transplant on a case-by-case basis, considering medical urgency and an evaluation of risks to the patient in the context of their particular organ transplant. This guidance was developed in consultation with a variety of experts, including those specializing in infectious diseases and bioethics.

Ontario Health (Trillium Gift of Life Network) recommends that transplant candidates be vaccinated. The decision about proceeding with transplant varies by organ and ultimately rests with the patient, the transplant physician and the transplant program.

In Ontario, patients have received transplants even if they did not have up-to-date COVID-19 vaccinations.

Ontario Health (Trillium Gift of Life Network) has been working with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) on an initiative to help grow organ and tissue donor registrations in Ontario. In 2021, the Canadian House of Commons and the Senate passed Bill C-210 (43-2): An Act to amend the Canada Revenue Agency Act (organ and tissue donors) to support organ and tissue donation and transplantation across Canada. The legislation granted the CRA authority to collect and share with provincial jurisdictions the email addresses of Canadians interested in learning more about organ and tissue donation and transplantation, and donor registration.

Beginning with the 2022 tax filing year (January-April 2023), the CRA has been securing consent from Ontario taxpayers for their email addresses to be shared with Ontario Health (TGLN) so Ontario Health (TGLN) may distribute an email communication directly to interested taxpayers with information about organ and tissue donation and transplantation and how to register as a donor.