odd question

Depends
Even during active cancer, certain things can be used. Cornea and skin, muscle tissue, etc. Depends on lots of stuff. Did you know the foreskin from one baby can grow enough skin to cover a football field.

Bones are irradiated before being donated so they are considered safe.

I'd asked that question a while back because my mother had breast cancer about 27 years ago and thinks she'll infect if she donates.

From ACS questions and answers:

While cancer has very rarely been transmitted through transplants of solid organs such as kidneys, cancer due to blood transfusion has not been reported in the medical literature. This would suggest that the chance of getting cancer from a blood transfusion is extremely small. Even if cancer cells were present in donated blood, the immune system of the person getting the blood would destroy the cells.

Organ donation

Many cancer survivors also wish to help people by becoming organ donors. There is always a pressing need for organ donation. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the organization that facilitates every organ transplant in the United States, more than 100,000 people are waiting for organs. Some organ donations, such as kidney donation, may be done when a person is still living. Others are possible only if a person wishing to donate passes away under certain circumstances.

The risk of passing on cancer to the person who gets an organ is very small, but there have been some rare reports in the medical literature of this happening. The risk may be higher for organ transplants than blood transfusions, in part because organ recipients are given drugs to suppress their immune systems to help prevent rejection of the transplant.

According to a study by UNOS, under certain circumstances there may be an acceptable risk in using organs from donors who have had certain types of cancer. This is particularly true if there is a long cancer-free interval before the organ donation. At present, UNOS does not recommend accepting organs from people with "actively spreading cancer (except for primary brain tumors that have not spread beyond the brain stem)." Acceptance of organs for donation is up to each organ procurement agency and the recipient. If you have questions about whether you may be able to donate your organs, please contact UNOS (see the "Additional resources" section) or the organ procurement center in your community.

For many people, donating the corneas from their eyes is another way to offer help to others after they pass away. Almost all people with cancer (except those with certain blood or eye cancers) can donate their corneas. Corneal donation does not delay the funeral and the body is not disfigured.

Last Medical Review: 07/13/2009
Last Revised: 07/13/2009