Archive for July, 2011
Organ Donation is a question most people are asked at the DMV. Do you want to be an organ donor? “Sure” or “I don’t think so.” What information are you getting? Do you know what you are saying yes or no to? For most, the answer to this is no. The general public has a preconceived idea of what organ donation is and most are completely wrong.
Being an organ donor means giving someone else life in the time of your death. It is a selfless act that gives a legacy to those who have died and one more thing for their loved ones to remember them for.
For the general public organ donation means that no matter what the circumstance surrounding their death they can be an organ donor. The truth, less than 1% of all deaths are eligible for organ donation. Less than 1%!!! That is a very small number. There are over 100,000 people on the waiting list for a life saving organ. In order to make a difference in that number people have to consent to donation. Just because you say yes does not mean you will ever be eligible.
In a previous post I described the mechanism of injury that has to happen in order for donation to be considered for someone who is dying. For Mid-America Transplant Services (MTS) we will have 120-150 organ donors a year. Every death that occurs in a hospital in our service area (120 hospitals) has to be called to our organization. That will be upwards of 2000 reportable deaths per year. Of those we will have 120-150 that consent to donation. After further evaluation some consented deaths will not be eligible. What a rare gift.
If you are a parent, imagine your child being so sick from birth that they have spent their entire life as a patient in an ICU. Eventually they are placed on the list for a heart transplant. Without this transplant your precious gift of life will not live to see their next birthday. You as a parent would do anything, give your own heart if you could. The thought of another child dying to give your son/daughter life is depressing and exciting all at the same time. What if you are the family on the other side of this story? Your child has been in a terrible accident and is now brain dead. You have an opportunity to give another family life in the time of your loss. Can you be ok with one scenario and not the other? Put yourself in their shoes.
This doesn’t just go for children. Put the above scenario with your spouse, mother, father, sister, brother, grandma, grandpa, niece, nephew. Can you be ok with wanting an organ to save your loved ones life but not ok with giving?