Organ and Tissue Donation

The Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital is part of the national DonateLife Network. Through local initiatives and supporting the national reform program, the RBWH DonateLife medical and nursing team aims to ensure all potential donors and families are able to realise their wishes to support organ and tissue donation.

Organ and tissue transplantation does save and transform the lives of people with a life threatening illness or disability. Organ and tissue donation involves removing organs and tissues from someone who has died (a donor) and transplanting them into someone who, in many cases, is very ill or dying (a recipient).

Organs that can be transplanted to save lives include the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, intestine and pancreas. Tissues such heart valves and other heart tissue can also be life-saving. Bone, tendons, ligaments and skin may aid trauma and burns victims in their recovery. Eyesight can be restored by cornea graft transplants.

The circumstances and opportunity for deceased patients and their families to support organ and tissue donation is uncommon. Just 1% of people dying in hospital are able to be an organ donor.

To help decide if you and your family would like to help others through organ and tissue donation, information is available on the following websites:

• Australian Government: Organ and Tissue Authority
  • Details on consent and registration
  • Outcomes for tissue and organ donation
  • Religious and cultural support of transplantation, organ and tissue donation
• DonateLife Queensland