Organ Donation Transplant Ireland

Organ Donation and Transplant Ireland (ODTI) is the national office which was set up to provide governance and leadership for Organ Donation and Transplantation in Ireland. The Office is dedicated to saving and improving lives by improving organ donation rates in Ireland. ODTI ensures services are maintained in line with EU regulations in order to ensure quality and safety of all transplants.

ODTI donor coordinators organise the donation process and provide support and advice to donor families.

There are specialist organ donation personnel based in each health region to assist with organ donation, including organ donation nurse managers and clinical leads. They provide support, advice, training and education to staff in emergency departments, theatres and intensive care units.

Organ donation and transplant surgery is well established in Ireland. There are three specialist transplant centres in Ireland:

The National Kidney Transplant Service is in Beaumont Hospital where kidney transplants from living and deceased donors take place. Paediatric kidney transplants are carried out in CHI at Temple Street.

The National Heart and Lung Transplant Service is in the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital where specialist transplant teams perform both heart and lung transplantation surgery.

The National Liver Transplant Service has been running at St Vincent’s University Hospital since 1993. In 2016 the National Pancreas Transplant Centre moved to St Vincent’s University Hospital.

Organ Donation

The Human Tissue Act 2024 introduced a soft opt-out system of consent for organ donation.

This means unless you’ve registered to opt out, you’ll be considered a potential organ donor when you die.

If you have not opted out, your next of kin will always be consulted about organ donation, and they will make the final decision.

About the organ donation opt-out register

What organs can be donated?

Organs that can be donated in Ireland are:

Heart
Lungs
Liver
Pancreas
Kidneys

A potential donor has to be in a hospital and maintained on a life support machine (ventilator) before they can become an organ donor. A person’s organs can be donated after:

Brain stem death
Circulatory death

Brain stem death

Brain stem death means that there is no blood flow or oxygen to the brain. The brain is no longer functioning. There is no hope of recovery. The patient cannot breathe without the help of a life support machine. This could be as a result of a massive brain haemorrhage or some form of head trauma.

Two senior doctors carry out tests to determine absence of brain function. When these tests show that there is no brain function and no chance of recovery, the patient is declared dead. The time of death recorded on the death certificate is when the second set of brain stem tests have been completed.

Donation after brain stem death

Organ donation can be considered when a patient on a life support machine is diagnosed brain stem dead.

If the patient is not on the organ donation opt-out register, the next of kin may be approached by the medical or nursing staff in the ICU to discuss the possibility of organ donation. The life support machine keeps the blood circulating after death, which means the organs can be maintained for transplantation.

Circulatory death

Circulatory death happens after an illness or injury from which a patient cannot recover. The patient is not brain dead, but has no hope of recovery. The patient cannot survive without a life support machine and medication.

Donation after circulatory death

Donation after circulatory death (DCD) occurs when a patient donates organs following the determination of death by cardio-respiratory criteria. A strict protocol is followed before this is considered. The medical team or the donor coordinators can provide more information.

Religion

All religions support organ donation. If you have any concerns, please speak to hospital staff.

Organ Donation Process

Written consent is required from the next of kin for each organ for donation.

A detailed health and lifestyle questionnaire is completed and blood tests are carried out, including one for viruses, to ensure that organs are suitable for donation. The next of kin is informed if there are any health implications as a result of this testing.

Once consent to proceed with organ donation has been given by the next of kin, staff in the hospital contact an ODTI donor coordinator.

The donor coordinator then contacts staff in the transplant centres who find suitably matched recipients and schedule a time for the donation to take place.

The donor coordinator travels to the local hospital and meets the next of kin to outline the donation process and answer any questions.

Transplant teams

Specialist transplant teams carry out the donor operation in an operating theatre in the hospital where the donor has died, under the same surgical conditions as any other operation.

There are individual transplant teams for each of the organs that are donated and each team consists of two surgeons and a nurse. The donor coordinator is present in theatre during the surgery and cares for the donor after the procedure. It is the highest priority of our teams to maintain dignity and respect for the deceased person at all times.

Recipient operation

Following donation, each transplant team transports the organ to the transplant centre where the recipient's operation will take place. The transplants are carried out without delay as soon as the recipients are prepared for the operation.

After the donation operation

After the donation operation, your loved one looks the same. The donation process will not delay funeral arrangements. The donor coordinator will write to the donor family after a few weeks giving an update of each person who benefitted from the organ donation. The identity of your loved one and the person who received the donated organs are at all times kept confidential.