ABA Family Legal Guide

Health-Care Law

Specific Issues in Health Care

Organ Donation

Who gets my organs?

In 1984, Congress enacted the National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA). As part of NOTA, organ procurement organizations (OPOs) were established. These organizations are divided into separate service areas. When you die, they coordinate the procurement of your organs with the transplantation process. This includes keeping a list of possible recipients and training hospital staff in getting the family's consent.

There is no cost to the organ donor for donating organs. The OPO assumes all the expenses associated with organ recovery. This does not include funeral and burial expenses, which are still the responsibility of the donor's family.

When your doctor declares you dead and your family consents to organ donation, the OPO staff is called into the hospital to organize the process. OPO makes the arrangements to harvest your organs. This involves removing your organs surgically, testing your tissue to check for disease and to determine its type, comparing your gift to the list of potential recipients, and transporting your organs to the transplant center.