Can I still be an organ donor if I've had COVID-19?

Regulations around organ donations are made at the provincial level, but generally, anyone can be a donor. Even so, there are screening procedures in place that are constantly being evaluated to ensure that the organ supply is as safe as possible, according to a transplant specialist at one of the largest transplant centres in the country.

“Dawson’s Creek” screenwriter Heidi Ferrer endured the debilitating effects of long-COVID for more than a year before dying by suicide in May, according to multiple media reports at the time of her death. It’s what happened to her organs after, however, that also had her husband concerned, according to a New York Times article this week. 

Nick Guthe wanted his wife’s body donated to science. But as someone who signed their donor card, Ferrer’s organs were harvested and used to save the lives of others.

She had developed severe inexplicable pain in her feet, heart palpitations, and digestive issues following her COVID-19 infection. Just weeks before her death, she also developed neurological issues including tremors and “brain fog.”

It all became too much for Ferrer, but as someone who spent much of her final year in agony, Guthe worried that his wife’s organ would not be safe for recipients.