INTEGRIS transplant teams typically retrieve their own donated hearts, lungs, kidneys, livers, pancreata and small bowels. NZTI transplant teams have flown to more than 20 states to retrieve organs for transplant. In some instances donor institutions well known to our teams are permitted to retrieve organs for NZTI.

Donated hearts and lungs are only suitable for transplantation up to four hours after they are retrieved. Livers should be transplanted within 12 to 16 hours after removal from the donor. Kidneys can be used up to 40 hours after retrieval, but are usually transplanted within 24 hours of retrieval.

Donor Information

Donor organs are in demand. There are currently more than 86,000 people on the national organ transplant waiting list. If you are interested in becoming an organ donor, sign up at your local tag agency or the Department of Public Safety (DPS) when you get your driver’s license or state ID card. You can also sign up online at www.lifeshareregistry.org, or if you don’t have Internet access, call (800) 826-LIFE for a donor registration card to be mailed to you.

Many people choose to donate an organ upon their death. However, a person can donate an organ (such as a kidney or portion of liver) while they are still living; these people are called "living donors."

Two types of surgery are commonly used to remove an organ or a portion of an organ from a living donor.

• Open surgery involves cutting the skin, muscles, and tissues to remove the organ. When open surgery is done, the person may have more pain and a longer recovery time.
• Laparoscopic surgery is a procedure in which a surgeon makes a number of small incisions and uses scopes to remove a kidney from a living donor.

You do not have to be a blood relative (such as a sibling or parent) of a living donor to receive a donor organ. A living donor can be someone who is emotionally related to you such as a close friend or spouse, or the donor can even be a stranger. In order to become a living donor, the person must be in good health, physically fit, free from chronic diseases such as diabetes or high blood pressure, free from psychiatric conditions, and between the ages of 18 to 60. Race and gender are not important considerations for becoming a living donor.