Support the Cause: Organ Donation
“More
than 114,000 men, women, and children are waiting for organs for
transplantation in the United States.
Every 10 minutes, a new name is added to the national waiting list for
organs. On average, 18 people die every
day because of the lack of donated organs” (A Donate Life Organization). As an
organ donor, one person can save the lives of up to eight people and improve
the lives of about 50 people! (A Donate Life Organization) Education about organ donation is needed in
our communities because there are a hundreds of thousands of people in need of
transplants and an even greater population of eligible donors who are not even
registered as organ donors.
“Education
about organ donation and diabetes awareness is needed in our communities. If
more people become organ donors, the wait time would be reduced. I urge everyone to test for diabetes and to
become an organ donor simply by marking it on your drivers’ license, on a
notarized note in wallet, or on your health directive” (Ortega). A woman named Vangeline Ortega knows
first-hand the need for more organ donors.
Ortega, at the age of 24 had her kidney fail and went through dialysis
for eight years before she received her first kidney transplant. Dialysis is a procedure where a filter
machine takes the place of a real kidney three days a week, four hours at a
time. This artificial kidney cleanses
the blood of toxins and excess water, in order to allow better breathing and
more energy. “I believe I have mastered
the art of living on dialysis,” says Vangeline Ortega (Ortega). This is just one case of a person who was in
need of a transplant, but there are many more people going through the same
process of living on machines waiting and hoping for an organ to be donated to them.
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| Fig. 1. Types of Organs that can be Donated |
Today, there is an average wait of five
years on a transplant waiting list (A Donate Life Organization). In 2011, in the United States, there were a
total of 14,145 organ donors, compared to the 114,000 people in need of organ
donors (Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network). The types of organs that can be donated
include eyes/corneas, lungs, kidneys, pancreas, skin, bone, tendons, femoral
and saphenous veins, intestines, liver, heart and heart valves (A Donate LifeOrganization). Of the 114,000 people
waiting for an organ transplant; more than 92,000 await kidneys, more than
16,000 need livers, and more than 3,000 need hearts. Also needed are: 1,200 pancreases, 1,600
lungs, 200 intestines, and 2,000 kidneys/ pancreases for double organ
transplants (Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network). Organ donations
can be made from the living and the deceased.
The organs you can donate as a living donor consist of kidneys, a
portion of the liver, a lobe of a lung, a portion of the intestine, and in some
rare instances, a portion of the pancreas (A Donate Life Organization). In 2011, there were 8,126 deceased organ
donors in the United States. This
accounted for roughly 79 percent of the total transplant procedures in 2011. In the same year there were 6,019 living
donors (Organ Procurement and Transplant Network). The success rate for organ transplants is
between 80 and 90 percent. At the end of
2006, 173,339 people in the United States were living with functioning
transplanted organs (2008 OPTN/SRTR Annual Report).
There are many reasons to be an organ
donor. For those dealing with a loss, it
might help the family overcome grief, knowing that they were able to help save someone
else’s life. Being an organ donor is
about helping others; which could mean helping someone improve the quality of
their living, for example, by donating a kidney to someone relying on kidney
dialysis, or donating, so the recipient can save money on hospital expenses. Donating bodies to provide material for
medical research, in order to find cures and treatments is also a very
impactful choice (Gagan, Dhillon). On
the other side, many people are against being organ donors for reasons such as
problems that can arise from surgery, like infection. Other reasons consist of future health issues;
when one donates a kidney, experiences kidney failure, and becomes a patient on
the waiting list for a new kidney. Other
people are against being organ donors because they want to be buried with all
their organs. Many people chose not to
be organ donors because of the financial expenses that surgery entails. All major religions support organ donations,
but there are a couple of religions that are against this practice such as the
Shinto religion of Japan and the Chinese folk religion. Lastly, people have issues with not being able
to choose the recipient of their organ donation (A Donate Life Organization).
The procedures for organ donations have
greatly improved since the first successful operation in 1869, which was a skin
transplant. 37 years later in 1906, the
first successful cornea transplant took place.
In 1954, transplant operations advanced greatly with the first kidney
transplant; the first operation was a situation where a living donor gifted a
kidney to their twin. In the following
years, other organs were introduced to transplant operations. The first pancreas operation was in 1966,
heart and liver transplants were introduced in 1967, and bone marrow operations
began in 1968 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Service). As organ transplants transformed and became
more popular, organizations developed in order to give encouragement to more
people to be organ donors. In 1968, the
first organ procurement organization (OPO) was established, as well as the New
England Organ Bank based in Boston. As
these operations became more and more popular, new hope was established in
patients who were in need of organ donations.
The expenses of these operations lead to the illegal buying and selling
of organs in the black market. In
response to this dangerous activity, The National Organ Transplant Act was
passed by congress in 1984, prohibiting the selling of human organs. This established the Organ Procurement and
Transplant Network and the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients to
ensure fair and ongoing allocation of donated organs. Grants for the establishment, operation, and
expansion of organ procurement organizations were also established (U.S.Department of Health and Human Service).
Today, organ procurement organizations thrive off of today’s advanced
use in technology and communication.
Recently, Facebook’s timeline feature includes a feature that identifies
links to organizations and official registries for organ donors (Gagan,Dhillon).
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| Fig. 2. Organ Donor Drivers License |
Signing up to be an organ donor is
easy. All you have to do is have it
stated on your driver’s license. You can
also inform your family and doctors about your donation decision, as well as
having it stated in your will (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). Anyone can be a living donor, as long as they
are free from chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. As
for deceased donors, there are many concerns about donations interfering with
funeral arrangements. Open casket
services are possible; bodies are not disfigured during surgery (A Donate LifeOrganization). When someone is donating
an organ, the person that the organ goes to is determined by severity of
illness, time spent on the waiting list, and blood type (A Donate LifeOrganization). The United Network for
Organ Sharing (UNOS) maintains a national computerized waiting list of
transplant candidates. The identity of the donor and the recipient are
confidential (A Donate Life Organization).
Being an organ donor is a selfless act that can tremendously impact someone else's chance of living a better life. Not only can you safe the life of a person who is relying on an organ donation to continue living, you can impact the lives of numerous people. By registering to be an organ donor after you pass, you can improve the lives of 50 and save the lives of 8, as well as impact the lives of every person who loves the lives of the people you saved. You can find plenty of reasons to deny the responsibility of being an organ donor, but you are denying someone their chance of living a long and happy life. Registering to be an organ donor is simple, it only requires checking a box when updating your license. By educating others about the importance of organ donors, we can inspire more people to become organ donors and improve the lives of more people in need of organ donations.
Work Cited
A
Donate Life Organization. “All About Donation.” New York Organ Donor Network. A Donate Life Organization, 2012.
Web. 6 Apr. 2013. http://www.donatelifeny.org/about-donation/what-can-be-donated/
De
Vahl Davis, Vivianne. “Organ Donations.” Journal of Medical Ethics, Vol. 16, No.2. (Jun., 1990) : 110-111. Web. 8 Apr. 2013. http://www.jstor.org.proxy.lib.iastate.edu/stable/27716922?seq=2&Search=yes&list=hide&searchUri=%2Fopenurl%3Fvolume%3D16%26date%3D1990%26spage%3D110%26issn%3D03066800%26issue%3D2&prevSearch=&item=1&ttl=2&returnArticleService=showFullText&resultsServiceName=null
Gagan,
Dhillon. “Organ Donation Pros and Cons.” Buzzle,
13 Mar. 2013. Web. 6 Apr. 2013. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/organ-donation-pros-and-cons.html
McCarthy
M. “USA Consider National Programs to Oversee Human Research.” Lancet, Vol. 357.
(2001) : p.1275. Web. 9 Apr. 2013. http://www.lexisnexis.com.proxy.lib.iastate.edu/hottopics/lnacademic/?verb=sr&csi=154080&sr=HLEAD(US+launches+initiative+to+boost+organ+donations)%2BAND%2BDATE%2BIS%2B2001
Organ
Procurement and Transplantation Network, Scientific Registry of Transplant
Recipients, United Network for Organ Sharing. “All About Donation.” New York Organ Donor Network. A Donate
Life Organization, 17 May. 2012. Web. 6 Apr. 2013. http://www.donatelifeny.org/about-donation/data/
Ortega,
Vangeline. “Our Stories.” LexisNexis
Academic. Twin Cities Daily Planet, 5 Apr. 2013. Web. 6 Apr. 2013. http://www.lexisnexis.com.proxy.lib.iastate.edu/hottopics/lnacademic/?
U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. “Becoming a Donor.” U.S. Government Information on Organ and
Tissue Donation and Transplantation, n.d. Web. 8 Apr. 2013. http://www.organdonor.gov/becomingdonor/
U.S.
Department of Health and Human Service. “Timeline of Historical Events Significant
Milestones in Organ Donation and Transplantation.” Organdonor.gov, n.d. Web. 7 Apr. 2013. http://organdonor.gov/legislation/timeline.html
Fig.
1. A Donate Life Organization. “All about Donation.” New York Organ Donor Network. A Donate Life Organization, 2012.
Web. 7 Apr. 2013. http://www.donatelifeny.org/about-donation/what-can-be-donated/
Fig,
2. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Organ Donation. n.d. Pennsylvania.
Organ Donations. Web. 14 Apr. 2013. http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/organ_donor/index.shtml
