While organ donors and eye/cornea donors do have an upper age limit, many tissue banks have no upper age limit.

The most incredible thing about tissue donation is the wide variety of transplantable products that are created from the generous gifts.

For example, donor skin can be given to burn victims.  The skin itself may only be in place for a few days before it is sloughed off by the recipient and thus skin from almost any donor age, sex and even race can be used.

Donated bone may used whole or turned into plates, pins, screws, dowels or  wedges.  Donated bone without the physical strength necessary for pins, plates and screws can be ground up and used to create a paste vital for facial and dental reconstruction.

In addition to transplantable tissues many tissue banks are seeking "research tissues."  Research tissues are forwarded to the physicians and scientists trying to find cures for conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, Alzheimers, cancer and almost every other disease currently plaguing our society.

Although an elderly donor with a history of Alzheimers and cancer may not have any tissues suitable for transplantation, that donor could very well provide the tissue used by the scientist that finally finds a cure for both.