Organ Donor Month

Organ Donor Month is a time for all South Africans to come together and encourage one another to register as proud organ donors.

Organ donation is the legal process by which a person allows an organ of their own to be removed and transplanted to another person, either while the donor is alive or while the donor is dead with the consent of the next of kin. Donations can be for research or, more commonly, for the transplantation of healthy transplantable organs and tissues into another person.

Kidneys, hearts, livers, pancreas, intestines, lungs, bones, bone marrow, skin, and corneas are all common transplants. Some organs and tissues, such as a kidney or a portion of the liver, pancreas, or intestines, can be donated by living donors, but the majority of donations take place after the donor has died.