Final answer:
Individuals can specify which organs or tissues they wish to donate through registries like the Glenda Dawson Donate Life — Texas Registry. Blood relatives are often preferred as organ donors due to genetic compatibility, reducing the risk of rejection, which is mitigated through immunosuppression therapy. Knowing one's blood type is crucial for compatibility in both blood transfusions and organ donations.
Step-by-step explanation:
When considering organ donation, it is certainly possible to specify which organs or tissues you would like to donate. Glenda Dawson Donate Life — Texas Registry enables individuals to register their consent to become an organ donor and to identify the organs or tissues they are willing to donate upon death.
One reason blood relatives are often preferred as organ donors is due to the closer genetic match, which tends to reduce the risk of organ rejection. Organ rejection occurs when the recipient's immune system identifies the transplanted organ as foreign and attempts to destroy it. To combat this, patients receive immunosuppression therapy to decrease the immune system's response and thereby increase the likelihood of transplant success.
Figure 17.6.5 indicates that people with compatible blood types have a safer experience with blood transfusions and are also preferred for organ donations. Knowing one's blood type is essential because it affects donation compatibility and the success of transplants.