Which organ in the human body cannot be donated?

The Brain Cannot Be Donated as a Transplantable Organ

The brain is the organ that cannot be donated for transplantation in humans. While multiple solid organs including kidneys, liver, lungs, and heart can be successfully transplanted from deceased donors, the brain itself is never procured or transplanted 1.

Organs That Can Be Donated

The established transplantable organs from deceased donors include:

• Solid organs: Kidneys, liver, lungs, and heart are all suitable for transplantation from both brain-dead donors and donation after cardiac death (DCD) donors 1
• Heart procurement: Requires specific surgical techniques including dissection of the aorta and pulmonary artery, with preservation in iced saline solution providing up to 5 hours of safe cold storage 2
• Tissues: Corneas and other tissues can also be recovered from asystolic cadaveric donors 1

Why the Brain Cannot Be Donated

The brain's unique status stems from fundamental biological and ethical principles:

• Brain death determination: The entire concept of organ donation from deceased donors is predicated on either brain death (irreversible loss of all brain function including cerebrum, cerebellum, and brainstem) or cardiac death 1, 3
• The dead donor rule: This foundational principle requires patients to be declared dead before removal of life-sustaining organs, and brain death itself serves as one of the legal definitions of death that permits organ procurement 4, 5
• Biological impossibility: Unlike other organs that can function when transplanted into a new host, the brain's complex neural architecture, consciousness, and integration with the entire organism make transplantation biologically impossible and ethically impermissible 4

Common Pitfall

A critical distinction must be understood: while the brain cannot be donated, brain-dead individuals can donate their other organs. The determination of brain death actually enables organ donation by allowing procurement before cardiac arrest, thereby minimizing warm ischemic time and preserving organ viability 1.