Organ Donation Quiz

Organ donation, at its heart, is simple enough—join the registry and your organs will go to someone in need when you pass away. But that’s not all there is to it.

Got the guts to test your knowledge? Take this quiz and find out just how much you know about organ donation!

  1. How many lives can one organ donor potentially save?
    • 1 Life

      Incorrect. According to, 1 organ donor can save up to 8 lives. Talk about spreading the wealth, and the health!

    • 15 Lives

      Incorrect. This number is a little high. says an organ donor can potentially save 8 lives, which is still quite the accomplishment.

    • 8 Lives

      Correct! Per, 1 organ donor can save up to 8 lives! By registering, you can make a huge and positive impact on the lives of multiple recipients and their loved ones.

    • 4 Lives

      Incorrect. Try doubling that number! Yep, just 1 organ donor has the potential to save 8 lives, according to

  2. I’m not allowed to register as an organ donor if I have a health condition.
    • True

      Depends. Not all health conditions restrict you from being able to register as a donor. According to, only people with HIV, systemic infections, or active cancer are not eligible to donate.

    • False

      Depends. Per, if you don’t have active cancer, a systemic infection, or HIV, you can register as an organ donor. Most other types of health conditions don’t affect all of your organs, leaving some perfectly viable as transplants.

  3. Which of the following organs are NOT used as transplants?
    • Lungs

      Incorrect. Lungs can be donated! Head over to’s complete list of transplantable organs and other body parts for more.

    • Skin

      Incorrect. Skin is another transplantable organ! If viable, an organ donor’s skin might go to a recipient who’s suffered serious burns or has a bad infection. Head over to for a list of all the body parts used in organ donation.

    • Corneas

      Incorrect. An organ donor’s corneas can be transplanted to restore a recipient’s vision. With this life-changing transplant, a patient receives the gift of sight. Head over to for a full list of organs and other body parts used in organ donation.

    • Brain

      Correct! Igor will be disappointed to hear this—brains are not currently donated to recipients. There are still many other options though! provides a comprehensive list of transplantable body parts, so be sure to check it out.

  4. You must be a certain age to become an organ donor.
    • True

      Incorrect. Organ donation is not limited by age (or race or ethnicity for that matter). In fact, organ donors range in age from newborns to senior citizens!

    • False

      Correct! You can register to be an organ donor at any time in your life. Eligible donors range in age from newborn babies to senior citizens! Additionally, your race and ethnicity are not factors in determining your eligibility to register as a donor.

  5. How often is a new person added to the organ donation waitlist?
    • Every 10 minutes

      Correct! At this rate, 144 new patients are added to the organ donation list every day. In a year, this makes over 52,200 additional people waiting for a life-saving donation—that’s nearly the population of Greenland!

    • Every 2 days

      Incorrect. Unfortunately, it’s more frequent than this. says a new patient is added to the organ donation waitlist every 10 minutes.

    • Every 2 weeks

      Incorrect. Patients are added at a much higher rate—per, every 10 minutes someone new is put on the organ donation waitlist.

    • Every hour

      Incorrect. Close, but new people are added to the organ donation waitlist even more often than this. According to, a new patient joins the waitlist every 10 minutes.

  6. The patient at the top of the organ donation waitlist is guaranteed the next available organ.
    • True

      Incorrect. There are a number of factors that go into deciding who will receive a donor’s organs when they become available. One major influencer is the distance from the donor to the recipient—each organ can only survive outside the body for a certain amount of time. This means the patient at the top of the waitlist may not receive the first-available organ if they are located too far from the donor.

    • False

      Correct! When an organ becomes available, a recipient’s position on the waitlist is certainly taken into account. However, there are many other factors like blood type, distance from the donor, and body type that could result in a donated organ going elsewhere.

  7. Donating your organs is totally free.
    • True

      Correct! If you pass away, you (and your family) do not have to pay for your organs to be donated. The recipient will cover the medical costs associated with the transplant.

    • False

      Incorrect. There’s no cost to the donor when organs are transplanted to a recipient. The patient receiving your organs will be responsible for the medical costs.

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