MYTH: If I am in an accident and the doctor and hospital know that I want to be a donor, they will not try hard to save my life.
FACT: Organ, tissue and eye recovery takes place only AFTER all efforts to save your life have been exhausted and you have been declared legally dead. The medical team treating you is completely separate from the transplant team. No one is contacted about your status as a potential donor until all life-saving efforts have failed.
MYTH: I don't need to tell my family that I want to be a donor because I have it written in my will.
FACT: By the time your will is read, it will be too late to recover your organs. Registering on this Website and telling your family now that you want to be an organ, tissue and eye donor is the best way to ensure that your wishes are carried out.
MYTH: I am not the right age for donation.
FACT: At the time of your death, the appropriate medical professionals will determine whether your organs, tissues or eyes are usable. Organs may be donated from newborns on up. Tissues have been recovered from individuals into their 80s.
MYTH: Wealthy people and celebrities are moved to the top of the waiting list faster than "regular" people.
FACT: The organ, tissue and eye allocation and distribution system is blind to wealth and social status. The time it takes to receive a transplant is governed by many factors, including blood type, length of time on the waiting list, severity of illness and other medical criteria. Factors such as race, gender, age, income or celebrity status are never considered when determining who receives organs, tissues or eyes.
MYTH: I have a history of medical illness. You would not want my organs, tissues or eyes.
FACT: At the time of your death, medical professionals will determine whether your organs, tissues and eyes are usable. With recent advances in transplantation, more people than ever before can be donors.
MYTH: Only your heart, liver and kidneys can be transplanted.
FACT: Organs that can be donated include the heart, kidneys, pancreas, lungs, liver and intestines. Tissues that can be donated include the corneas, skin, bone, heart valves and tendons.
MYTH: Donation will mutilate my body.
FACT: Donated organs, tissues and eyes are removed surgically in a routine operation. Donation doesn't disfigure the body or change the way it looks in a casket.
MYTH: My family will be charged for donating my organs, tissues and eyes.
FACT: No costs directly related to organ, tissue or eye donation are passed on to the family. A nonprofit organ procurement organization (OPO) will pay these costs.
MYTH: My religion does not support donation.
FACT: Most mainstream, organized religions approve of organ, tissue and eye donation and consider it an act of charity.