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How Many Body Parts Can Be Harvested After Death to Aid the Living?

The number of body parts that can be donated depends primarily on the health of the donor. Donations taken from the deceased must be harvested within hours, while other organs and parts can be donated from the living.

  1. Organs

    • According to the government website Organ Donor, the kidneys, lungs, heart, liver, pancreas and intestines can be taken from the recently deceased and used to replace failing organs in the living. One kidney and parts of the pancreas, liver, lung and intestines can be donated from those still living.

    Tissues

    • Certain tissues can also be donated from the deceased, including corneas, the middle ear, skin, heart valves, bones, veins, cartilage, tendons and ligaments. These tissues can be stored in banks and used to restore sight, cover burns and repair hearts.

    Stem Cells and Platelets

    • Stem cells can be donated from healthy individuals ages 18 to 60 and are harvested from bone marrow, peripheral blood stem cells or cord blood.

      Blood and platelets can be donated from the living and stored according to blood type and Rh factors. Platelets are small fragments in the blood that help it clot.

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