Are donor organs removed from bodies whilst the heart is still beating even though the brain is 'dead'

Question

This point has never been made clear in the media and it is time to know the truth in order to make decisions about organ donation after death and indeed whether or not you consider yourself dead even though your heart is beating in the presence of a surgeon with a large scalpel.

Answer 1

i have had some experience with this. i used to work in an icu. you are deemed clinically dead, but yes, you are kept alive by machines and medication. it is called being "harvested". there is a special team of nurses (from the organ donor network) that come to the hospital and they take care of you until the research team finds suitable/compatible people for you to donate to. then the doctors from the organ donor network come and take you into surgery. they do this while your heart is still beating.
you don't have to be harvested to donate your organs. you can donate eyes and skin without being harvested. when someone is harvested the process has to start right away, (so you don't lose blood flow) usually before they are even "clinically" dead the organ donor network is there to get things ready. you have to be harvested in order to donate heart, kidneys, liver, and other inside organs. the reason that you have to be harvested is to maintain the blood flow to those organs. if there is no blood flow to those organs, then those organs die as well, and are of no use to others.
if you do not want to be harvested, then you can state that in your wishes, and you can just donate eyes, skin, etc. hope that helps you.

Answer 2

Once someone is actually dead their organs will stop working, and so organ donation happens when a family has made a decision that their relative is not going to recover from a coma and to switch off the machines keeping them alive. So in order to get the organs in th best condition, the organs are removed before the machines are turned off, i.e. when the heart is still beating.

Answer 3

IFAIK, some organs are removed within minutes of the donor being pronounced brain dead. The heart may continue beating for some time, however, once the circulation has stopped, there is only a short amount of time an organ can survive.

Answer 4

yes. although the brain is dead the organs are still technically alive and the heart can still be beating. this is to ensure that the organs are still healthy for donation after harvesting - hence the short time scales for donation.

Answer 5

Well, it would make sense. I mean, if someone has designated themselves to be an organ donor and is declared "brain dead" and has specified NOT to be kept alive through machinery, and there's someone else who needs an organ donated to them, wouldn't they need a "living organ"? One that's not living would hardly do them any good.

Answer 6

What do you need a heart for if your brain dead.

Answer 7

they are removed after the person is declared dead by a doctor

Answer 8

i dont know how it works, but my firend was buried last friday
and he gave his organs, he helped save 4 adults and a baby,
but the thing i cant understand is if you donate for organs
then you cant be buried. see i dont believe in being burnt. but i
do believe organs should be given. but cant you be buried???

Answer 9

no nothing is removed till all functions cease it is a surgeons duty to try to revive you if there are any signs of life and most surgeons will try to revive you even if there are no signs of life

Answer 10

YES, THEY HAVE TO BE, OR VERY SOON AFTER OTHERWISE THE BLOOD SUPPLYING THE OXYGEN IS CUT OFF AND THE ORGAN WOULD DIE