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Saturday, July 18, 2009 jomo1960 asks

Q: Organ Donation after Chemo

Does anyone know if you had chemo and/or radiation, are you still able to be an organ donor? I have listed on my drivers license to be an organ donar and just was curious if anyone knows. I had both chemo and radiation. I had Stage III Cancer due to being Inflammatory Breast Cancer. I am on 3 month follow up, with Sept 17th being 1 year since diagnosis.

 

thanks, Johanna

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7/18/09 6:52pm

Hi Johanna - Whether or not you can donate your organs after having had cancer is up to the organ harvesting facility, and the recipient. Some will allow this; some won't. So I guess it would depend where you are when the time comes. After a certain period of time (1 to 5 years post-treatment, with no sign of cancer), the American Red Cross will accept your blood again; and you can donate your corneas, again after a certain time period. Hope this helps - PJH

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7/18/09 7:04pm

Thanks PJ. That sounds about like what I was thinking.

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