Organ Donation

No. The doctors looking after a patient have to make every possible effort to save the patient's life. That is their first duty.  If, despite their efforts, the patient dies, organ and tissue donation can then be considered and a completely different team of donation and transplant specialists would be called in. 

Yes, in a small number of hospitals, patients who are confirmed dead on arrival or die in the emergency department can donate organs, in particular kidneys, which are able to tolerate a longer period without oxygen than other organs.

For this to happen, however, steps have to be taken to preserve the kidneys until the next of kin are contacted.  This includes a special technique in which the organs are flushed with a cold preservative fluid.  This is done through a small tube which is inserted into a blood vessel in the groin.

This must be done very soon after death to ensure the organs remain suitable for transplantation and the person who has died is not deprived of the opportunity to donate.  However, organ donation itself will not take place unless you, in your lifetime, expressed a wish to donate, or the person closest to you in life gives their permission.  

You can donate tissue whether or not you die in hospital, for instance if you die at home or in a hospice.