April 2006
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Be a hero: Be an organ donor
Among other things, April is organ donation awareness month. During this month, we are likely to read and hear heartwarming stories of lives saved by modern medicine. During the rest of the year when organ donation is mentioned in the news, it's usually in weird and rare stories that have a negative focus. It's an emotional topic to begin with, and these off-putting accounts are really an injustice to the families of organ donors, to those waiting on lists to receive organs, and to the dedicated medical teams who make organ donation happen.
As the parent of a child who will probably need a liver transplant during childhood, the only real "negative" is waste – the waste of thousands and thousands of organs that end up buried in the ground instead of bringing people back from the brink of death. Modern medicine has gotten us to the point where people who desperately need a replacement organ can get it from someone who no longer needs their organs. Organ recipients can and do go on to live robust, fulfilling lives.
Snowboarder Chris Klug won an Olympic medal 18 months after receiving a liver transplant. Houston musician Dallas Foster, who rocks the house at local clubs every weekend, had a heart transplant six years ago. Thousands of children and adults are able to live ordinary, healthy lives – going to kindergarten, church, and work – after receiving kidneys, lungs, corneas, and more.
The tragedy here is not only that people suffer from diseases that make them need new organs, not only that people become organ donors because they've suffered fatal injuries, but the waste. The ultimate tragedy is that we have the solution to save lives and we can't. Why is there such a disconnect between medical technology and reality? Why doesn't everyone choose to donate?
The Myths
Some people believe that their religion doesn't support organ donation. Actually, all major organized religions approve of organ donation and consider it an act of charity.
Other people are concerned that donation will disfigure them. Organ recovery is just like any surgery, and once organs are removed, the donor is neatly sewn back up. Open casket funerals are still an option.
Some potential donors are worried that if they are in an accident, not every effort will be made to save their lives. In reality, organ donation is only considered after all efforts to save the patient have been exhausted. The doctors treating the potential donor are completely separate from the transplant team.
Still others are concerned that their family might be charged for organ donation. In fact, no family is ever charged with any expenses related to organ donation.
And certain people think they are too old or are not in peak physical condition. This is something that only medical professionals can determine. From a practical standpoint, a 60-year-old kidney that works is preferable to a 25-year-old one that doesn't. With recent advances in transplantation, many more people than ever before can be donors.
Some caring but misled individuals think they don't need to tell their families their wishes about donation because their will or driver's license indicates they want to donate their organs. In fact, in a time of incredible grief, no one is likely to look at your license or your will. Permission from the donor's family is always obtained before organ recovery. Let your family know now that you want to be an organ donor.
Last, some people are concerned that their family won't be able to cope with their decision to donate. All you have to do is check out the United Network for Organ Sharing web site, or any other reputable one for donor families and/or recipients to read numerous of stories about donor families who found peace, comfort, and hope from their loved one's decision – or their decision - to give life to others.
Every Potential Donor Matters
As the disease that affects one organ progresses, it affects other organs as well. If an organ recipient does not do well after transplant, it may be because he or she had to wait a very long time on the transplant list. Getting a replacement organ is a big deal, and it's best to go into surgery as healthy as possible. For example, your heart transplant will be much smoother if your heart is the only problem and the disease hasn't affected your lungs and kidneys.
According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, the group that facilitates the organ matching process in the United States, there are currently more than 91,900 children and adults listed, waiting, and desperately needing an organ donation. In January 2006, 2,298 transplants took place in the United States. Do the math – it's not pretty.
Each of us has the potential to save lives. We all have two kidneys, two lungs, one intestine, one pancreas, one liver, and one heart. Please consider organ donation, and please tell your family your wishes. Not because it's April, but because it's your chance to be a hero.
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