do ‧ nor /ˈdəʊnə $ ˈdoʊnər/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: doneur , from Latin donare 'to give' ]
1 . a person, group etc that gives something, especially money, to help an organization or country ⇨ donate :
We urgently need more assistance from donor countries (=countries that give money, food etc to help in poor countries or disaster areas) .
An anonymous donor (=whose name is unknown) has given £500 towards the restoration fund.
2 . someone who gives blood or a body organ so that it can be used in the medical treatment of someone else ⇨ donate :
Some patients die before a suitable donor is found.
blood/organ/kidney etc donor
the shortage of blood donors
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COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + donor
▪ a suitable donor
After a 10-month wait, a suitable donor was found.
▪ a blood donor
Are you willing to register as a blood donor?
▪ an organ donor
There are not nearly enough organ donors.
▪ a heart/liver/kidney etc donor
There is a shortage of kidney donors.
▪ a sperm/egg donor (=a man who gives sperm or a woman who gives eggs to help someone else have a baby)
Her husband was infertile so they conceived using a sperm donor.
■ donor + NOUN
▪ a donor organ
She had to wait for over a year before a donor organ became available.
▪ a donor heart/liver/kidney etc
The technique keeps the donor heart beating while it is transported.
▪ donor blood
Donor blood had to be used during the operation.
▪ a donor card (=that you carry to give permission for your organs to be used if you die)
Do you carry a donor card?