Research Guides - Organ Donation

Overview

Organ donation takes healthy organs and tissues from one person for transplantation into another. Experts say that the organs from one donor can save or help as many as 50 people. Organs you can donate include kidneys, heart, liver, pancreas, intestines, lungs, skin, bone, bone marrow, and corneas. Anyone can be an organ donor regardless of age or background. Children under 18 must have parental consent to become a donor or to be issued a donor card.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Donation of Organs and Tissues
Transplantation of Organs and Tissues
Tissue and Organ Procurement
Health Policy—United States
Tissue Donors—Supply and Distribution


Keywords

Organ Donation
Tissue Donation
United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)
Transplant
Cyclosporine
Altruistic
Ethics
Medical Aspect
Legal Aspect

Boolean search strategies work well to narrow down this topic to reference a specific organ. The listed keywords are used for general organ donation information.


Reference Sources

Call No.: KF3827.D66 Z958 1989
Williams, Phil. Life From Death: The Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Source Book, with Forms. Oak Park, Ill: P. Gaines, c1989.
This source includes information on U.S. laws and legislation regarding organ donation.

Call No.: RD129.5 .O74 2006
Ockerbloom, John Mark. Organ Donation: Opportunities for Action. Institute of Medicine, 2006. http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupid?key=olbp38405
This source discusses the likelihood that a given person or someone that he or she cares about may need a solid-organ transplant.

Call No.: L1836.60 or14
Mutscher, Gus. A Report to the 61st Legislature on Organ Transplantation. 60th R.S., 1967.
http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/scanned/interim/60/or14.pdf
This source is an actual scanned copy of new and changed laws passed by the 60th legislature to keep abreast of medicine related to organ transplantation.


Print Books

Shanteau, James & Richard Jackson Harris. Organ Donation and Transplantation: Psychological and Behavioral Factors. May 1990.
This source takes an in-depth look at reasons behind the shortage of organs for transplantation and why psychological research needs to be conducted.

Healy, Kieran Joseph. Last Best Gifts: Altruism and the Market for Human Blood and Organs. Univ. of Chicago Press, 2006.
This source describes why people practice unselfish concern and devotion to helping others.

Green, Reg. The Gift That Heals. Author House, Bloomington IN, 2007.
This book describes how people can turn tragedy into triumph by unselfishly saving a stranger’s life.


Periodicals

Organ Donation. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Vol. 299, No. 2, Jan. 9/16, 2008
This issue of the scholarly journal, JAMA, includes an article on how organ donation can be life-saving for patients with organ failure. It reports information on disparities in access to organ transplantation between rural and urban populations. It also includes a chart on the type of organs that can be transplanted and the number of patients waiting for transplants.
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/299/2/244

Howards, Lawrence. Ethics of Organ Donation. Milwaukee Journal Sentinal (JS Online). June 1999.
This source deals with ethical questions that families of deceased people have when they decide whether or not to donate their loved one’s organs.
http://www2.jsonline.com/alive/column/jun99/howards62099.asp

Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs, AMA. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Vo. 273. 1995
This source deals with both ethical and legal matters when deciding to donate a loved one’s organs.


Website Resources

The OrganDonor.gov website contains up-to-date information about donation basics, risks, research, legislation, and how to get involved. It also provides current statistics on the number of waiting list candidates, recent transplants that have taken place, and donors who have saved lives.
http://www.organdonor.gov/

For people interested in learning about becoming a live organ donor, this site provides a wealth of information on who can be a living donor, the types of living donations, risks, and recovery.
http://www.donatelife.net/UnderstandingDonation/LivingDonation.php