Tissue donation is a gift of hope
Organ donations save lives.
The story of medicine in Pittsburgh has included huge chapters on the growth of transplant surgery. Livers, hearts, kidneys and lungs — all of these are the critical organs people need to survive.
They are not, however, the only donations that can be made when someone dies.
Tissue donation is not as commonly discussed as organ donation, but it has a major impact. While there were more than 46,000 organ transplants in 2023, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration, there were about 2.5 million tissue transplants. Those are the result of about 58,000 tissue donations.
The tissue in question includes things like skin, bone, corneas, tendons and heart valves. Some, like the valves, can be lifesaving. But tissue donation can also improve quality of life.
Bone can be used to restore stability and mobility. Corneas preserve or grant vision. Skin can help burn victims recover from pain and trauma.
These might not seem as vital as a heart or lungs. But, for someone living with a progressive or debilitating condition, these tissues are a gift of hope.
Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson’s office is helping to increase the number of donations by encouraging conversations. In just two years, deputy coroners referred 80 families, with 24 of them becoming donors. That’s remarkable, as the Center for Organ Recovery and Education in O’Hara estimates only about 3% to 4% of deceased individuals are eligible.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office works to help connect families with donors. But, while hospitals are required to have this conversation, coroners and medical examiners are not.
How many lives could be improved if county offices had to share this information?
Every life doesn’t end in a hospital bed. People who pass at home or in other nonmedical settings cannot donate vital organs, which must be carefully controlled. But tissue donation provides another important way to extend life and hope.
Pennsylvania encourages residents to think about organ donation with every driver’s license renewal. The state should consider similar outreach on the broader issue of tissue donation.
Every county’s medical examiner or coroner’s office should discuss these options with families. These agencies help people deal with the end of lives. Sharing information about tissue donation is a way they can help the living.
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