The removal of a body part from one person for transplantation into another, typically to restore functional capacity.

Patient Care: Organ donation may occur during life, as when a matched individual chooses to give bone marrow or a kidney to another; or it may occur at death, by those who have agreed to donate their organs if they suffer fatal accidents. Health care professionals working with trauma patients have a significant effect on increasing the number of organ donations through prompt identification of possible donors and the provision of hemodynamic management to preserve organ function and health.

SEE: donor card; transplantation.