Under what circumstances can a person be a tissue or eye donor?
Virtually all deceased persons, regardless of cause of death, may potentially be tissue or eye donors. Unlike organ donation, it is not necessary for heart and lung function to be maintained on a ventilator. Once a death is reported to the local recovery agency, protocols require that the family be contacted within a few hours regarding the opportunity to donate. This request comes at a time during the familys grief, but it is done only in the interest of honoring the wishes of the potential donor and helping those in need of donated tissue and eyes. For people who choose to enroll in the Mississippi Donor Registry, their family is spared the added burden of deciding what to do. All that is required of the family at that point is to answer some questions about current medical history.
