Questions when registering a tissue donor

Do you want to register a tissue donor? Review the questions asked by the NTS Organ Centre in advance and gather the information.

Check the contraindications

These are the most important contraindications:

A hematological disorder (including in the past) such as leukemia, (non-)Hodgkin, Kahler, myelodysplastic syndrome, and polycythemia vera
A degenerative neurological disorder of unknown origin such as all forms of dementia, Parkinson's, MS, and ALS
BMI > 40

With these 3 contraindications, tissue donation cannot take place.

None of the 3 contraindications? Then go through the questions below with the surviving relatives. You can also extract them from the medical record.

You do this before calling the NTS and registering the donor.

Was there sepsis or another infection at the time of death?
Briefly describe the course from illness to death (if known) and the cause of death.
What is the medical and social history?
- Is there reason to suspect that the patient was at risk for an STI in the last 4 months?
Medication use?
Height/weight (or estimate based on build)?
Was there any blood loss? If so: has the patient received infusions and/or transfusions for this in the past 48 hours? If so: when was blood drawn for the first infusion/transfusion?

Was there alcoholism (complications)?
Was there any drug use in the last 4 months? Also ask: what, when, and how?
Has the patient traveled outside the Netherlands in the past year? Ask for dates and exact locations.

Eye tissue: eye diseases/eye surgeries (e.g., vision corrections by means of laser)?
Skin: inspect the front and back of the patient for skin conditions or abnormalities of the skin (e.g., tattoos, BCC, seborrheic keratoses, naevi, prednisone skin, pressure ulcers, fluid overload, or visible ribs)?
Other tissues: autoimmune diseases, connective tissue diseases, valve disorders, and bone diseases?

Is there any objection to testing on tissues that might be rejected after retrieval (transplantation-oriented research)?
Do the surviving relatives wish to receive a letter with information on which tissues have been retrieved? If so, note name and address details.
Who is the (own) general practitioner (contact details)?
Do the surviving relatives wish to have the deceased returned to them sooner than usual? The usual duration is a maximum of 28 hours.
In case of a death at home: what are the contact details of the funeral director (so that NTS can coordinate the retrieval)?