There is no age limit for organ donors

**Is there an age limit for organ donation?**Young or old, organ donation can save lives. There is no age-related contraindication to donation for organ and tissue retrieval or transplantation. The average age of donors is rising (from 42 in 2000 to 57 in 2020), not least because older people may have access to transplants: the average age of patients with access to transplants has risen from 44 in 2000 to 51 in 2020. Admittedly, people over 60 can rarely donate their hearts, but kidneys or livers can be taken from much older people. It's the condition of the organs that counts, and this depends first and foremost on the conditions in which the person died, as well as their lifestyle.

**Is there a medical contraindication to organ donation?**The medical team assesses the possibility of organ donation on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the deceased's medical history and the results of screening tests for transmissible diseases such as hepatitis. Before any organ is harvested, doctors check the quality of each organ by carrying out laboratory analyses and imaging tests.

How is respect for the body and its return to the family ensured? Organ removal is a surgical procedure performed in the operating room, under the same conditions and with the same care as for a living person. Incisions are closed and covered with dressings. If corneas are removed, an ocular lens is placed under the eyelid to restore its original curved appearance.

Once the operation has been completed, the body is dressed and returned to the family, who can arrange the funeral of their choice. The cost of restoring the body is borne by the establishment that took care of the removal. On the other hand, the family is responsible for funeral and body conservation care.

**What does the law say? Are we all donors?**Since 1976, French law has stipulated that we are all presumed to be organ donors when we die: organ removal is therefore authorized, unless we have expressed our refusal to donate during our lifetime (either by registering on the national refusal register, or by informing our next of kin). It is possible to donate only certain organs and tissues. To do so, you must specify, on the national refusal register or to your loved ones, which organs and tissues are not to be removed. Finally, nothing is irrevocable: a person who has registered on the refusal register can go back on his or her decision at any time and modify his or her wishes.

Atthe time of death, before considering organ and tissue removal, the medical team checks whether the deceased is registered on the national refusal register. If this is not the case, the family is consulted to find out whether their loved one had expressed opposition to organ donation, either orally or in writing, during his or her lifetime. By letting your loved ones know, while you're still alive, what your choices are in terms of organ donation, you help them to cope with the first moments of grief and to get through the psychologically very difficult time they're facing.

PRPA contacts for Agence de la biomédecine Elisa Ohnheiser: elisa.ohnheiser@prpa.fr / 06 80 28 66 72 Danielle Maloubier: danielle.maloubier@prpa.fr / 06 24 26 57 90