The only way a loved one can do this is if they are a perfect match with their recipient. The reason people can donate a kidney is because a person's body can still fully function with only one kidney. .
There are many different ways to donate organs. The most common is after death when "they declare you dead, remove your organs, test your organs, and transplant them with someone who needs them in order to survive" (Alkhatib, 150). Amir Alkhatib is a surgeon who has done numerous successful organ transplants. He wrote a book that talks about a surgeon's work and her specific duties. Organ donation is also possible while you are still alive. People can survive with one kidney even though we are born with two. Kidney donations happen very often between family members if the two are compatible. Organ rejection is a huge factor that doctors and patients have to consider. Many tests have to be run to make sure donors organs are a good fit for one another. Tissue is another form of organ donation that saves just as many lives. A tissue donor has died a biological death, which means the heart and lungs have stopped permanently. "Tissues that can be donated include bone, heart valves, veins, skin, ligaments and tendons. These tissues can be recovered up to 24 hours after a death has occurred" (Neate, 49) S.L. Neate wrote an article about organ donors in Australia. A lot of their transplants come from tissue donors more than organ donors. People that become organ donors become tissue donors at the same time. Tissue can save a life just as much as an organ can. .
The main difference between an organ donor and a tissue donor is the cause of death. An organ donor has suffered a sudden death, possibly through an accident. A tissue donor has died biologically or naturally. Tissue is used to repair minor parts of the body that play a major part, such as bones, veins, tendons or ligaments.