Organ and Tissue Donating
Eighteen. Eighteen people will enter eternity today. Eighteen people will enter eternity not because they got into an accident, not because of a shooting, an explosion, not because they chose to. Eighteen people will die today because they didn’t get the organ transplant they needed in time. Money is not the issue, nor is shortage. 6,316 people die each hour, of these 6,000 there are hundreds of potential donors. Hundreds of people could save the lives of others. Hundreds of people could be removed from the waiting list. Hundreds could be relieved of a hospital bed. Hundreds of people could be removed from life support and given their lives back. A single organ and tissue donor can save not only one life but fifty.
Donations of organs and tissues are generosity, a valuable decision that can save the lives of many. For numerous people it is very difficult to think about what may happen to you after death, let alone your body’s organs and tissue. If you choose to become an organ and tissue donor the process will be explained and you will have a good idea of what will happen. The organ donation process is very extensive and takes many steps, steps that are explained thoroughly. “You need to know this is a completely elective surgery. There is no medical benefit to you if you choose to donate”, these are the words live donors hear repeatedly until the moment they are put under anesthesia. Doctors and nurses make their best effort to make sure you are well aware the details of the procedure. Doctors and nurses make their best effort to make you understand that this is your decision and it will immensely impact another person’s life, but yours is also at risk. The decision to donate is a decision that will forever give an understanding of saving another person’s life. Not only does it give a person their life back but it gives a family a member back.
Myths regarding organ donation are often times found to be false and should not influence your decision in donating life. Some believe that if they choose to donate their organs the hospital nurses and staff won’t work as hard to save their life, this is false. Hospital staff works to save your life when you are the patient not someone else. Some believe that they “won’t really be dead when they sign my death certificate”. When all possible lifesaving efforts have been made those who agree to organ donation are given more tests, which are not of any cost to the family. These tests determine that brain death has occurred and are usually performed by neurosurgeons or neurologist. When a patient is considered brain dead they have no brain activity and cannot breathe on their own. Brain death is death, not a coma. Organ donation is a way of coping for the family members, knowing that they lost a loved one but up to 50 families gained one back.
Organ donation does not interfere with funerals, even open casket ones. The body is clothed for burial so there are no visible signs of organ donation. Even if bones are donated there is a rod which is inserted where the bone was removed. With skin donation the skin is removed from areas which are also not visible during the funeral such as the back area. Many also believe that Age, body shape, and health automatically disqualify you from organ donation but this is untrue.
Organ donation is consistent with the beliefs of most major religions which some do not know, these religions include Roman Catholicism, Islam, most divisions of Judaism and most Protestant faiths. If you are unsure if your religion abides you could ask a member of your clergy. Most religions in the United States support organ donation and even consider it as the final act of love and generosity toward others.
There are 118,002 people in the United States alone that are waiting for a call. A call that will help them gain their life back. Some never get this call saying that a suitable donor has been found, some may never get this call to give them a second chance at life. There are 100 million people signed up to be organ donors, organ donors so when their organs are no longer useful to them they can be useful to someone else. The process of matching donors with a recipient can sometimes be long, but well worth the wait. If the evaluation of the deceased’s does not rule out donation then the search for a recipient begins. The Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (OPTN) is the operator of the national database which contains a list of all patients in the U.S. waiting for a transplant. The program matches donor organs with recipients based on many factors. These factors include certain characteristics such as blood type, tissue type, height and weight. The amount of wait time, severity of a patients illness, distance between donors and the recipients hospitals also aide in figuring out who is the best match for each specific organ. The OPTN system stores the matching information for all waiting patients as well. When the information is entered and matches are found a list is generated. The first person on the list is offered the organ first. The organ is sometimes not suited for the patient for numerous reasons, sometimes patients are too sick, or cannot be reached in time. 75% of organs go to local patients, but some are shared with patients in other regions of the country. Once the donor arrives they are taken into the operating room where the procedure occurs. The process must happen quickly because the organs only stay healthy for a short period of time after the removal from the donor. Surgical teams work around the clock when needed to transplant the organs which save the lives of many.
Some wait over a year to receive a transplant. As of 2008 the median wait times for transplants are heart 113 days, lungs 141 days, liver 361 days, kidney 1, 219 days, pancreas 260 days, and intestine159 days. The wait for patients and their families can seem like decades through suffering, the recovery process is long and stressful but well worth it for everyone. Once a patient receives a transplant they must be very careful of their health and be sure to eat the healthiest foods possible. Last year alone 28,000 transplants were made possible, another million received cornea and tissue transplants that helped them recover from trauma, bone damage, spinal injuries, burns, hearing impairments, and vision loss. Unfortunately thousands of people each year die before they receive the chance to get an organ for transplant. You have the power to change that number by donating. Donating does not interfere with your life at all until after death.
I believe that every person has a purpose. After my research on organ donation I have found my purpose, to bring about change by making everyone aware of the importance in becoming an organ donor. With three simple steps you can sign up at your local Department of Motor Vehicles or online at donatelife.org. By signing up to be an organ donor you not only make a difference in the world but you donate life, sign up today.
Donations of organs and tissues are generosity, a valuable decision that can save the lives of many. For numerous people it is very difficult to think about what may happen to you after death, let alone your body’s organs and tissue. If you choose to become an organ and tissue donor the process will be explained and you will have a good idea of what will happen. The organ donation process is very extensive and takes many steps, steps that are explained thoroughly. “You need to know this is a completely elective surgery. There is no medical benefit to you if you choose to donate”, these are the words live donors hear repeatedly until the moment they are put under anesthesia. Doctors and nurses make their best effort to make sure you are well aware the details of the procedure. Doctors and nurses make their best effort to make you understand that this is your decision and it will immensely impact another person’s life, but yours is also at risk. The decision to donate is a decision that will forever give an understanding of saving another person’s life. Not only does it give a person their life back but it gives a family a member back.
Myths regarding organ donation are often times found to be false and should not influence your decision in donating life. Some believe that if they choose to donate their organs the hospital nurses and staff won’t work as hard to save their life, this is false. Hospital staff works to save your life when you are the patient not someone else. Some believe that they “won’t really be dead when they sign my death certificate”. When all possible lifesaving efforts have been made those who agree to organ donation are given more tests, which are not of any cost to the family. These tests determine that brain death has occurred and are usually performed by neurosurgeons or neurologist. When a patient is considered brain dead they have no brain activity and cannot breathe on their own. Brain death is death, not a coma. Organ donation is a way of coping for the family members, knowing that they lost a loved one but up to 50 families gained one back.
Organ donation does not interfere with funerals, even open casket ones. The body is clothed for burial so there are no visible signs of organ donation. Even if bones are donated there is a rod which is inserted where the bone was removed. With skin donation the skin is removed from areas which are also not visible during the funeral such as the back area. Many also believe that Age, body shape, and health automatically disqualify you from organ donation but this is untrue.
Organ donation is consistent with the beliefs of most major religions which some do not know, these religions include Roman Catholicism, Islam, most divisions of Judaism and most Protestant faiths. If you are unsure if your religion abides you could ask a member of your clergy. Most religions in the United States support organ donation and even consider it as the final act of love and generosity toward others.
There are 118,002 people in the United States alone that are waiting for a call. A call that will help them gain their life back. Some never get this call saying that a suitable donor has been found, some may never get this call to give them a second chance at life. There are 100 million people signed up to be organ donors, organ donors so when their organs are no longer useful to them they can be useful to someone else. The process of matching donors with a recipient can sometimes be long, but well worth the wait. If the evaluation of the deceased’s does not rule out donation then the search for a recipient begins. The Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (OPTN) is the operator of the national database which contains a list of all patients in the U.S. waiting for a transplant. The program matches donor organs with recipients based on many factors. These factors include certain characteristics such as blood type, tissue type, height and weight. The amount of wait time, severity of a patients illness, distance between donors and the recipients hospitals also aide in figuring out who is the best match for each specific organ. The OPTN system stores the matching information for all waiting patients as well. When the information is entered and matches are found a list is generated. The first person on the list is offered the organ first. The organ is sometimes not suited for the patient for numerous reasons, sometimes patients are too sick, or cannot be reached in time. 75% of organs go to local patients, but some are shared with patients in other regions of the country. Once the donor arrives they are taken into the operating room where the procedure occurs. The process must happen quickly because the organs only stay healthy for a short period of time after the removal from the donor. Surgical teams work around the clock when needed to transplant the organs which save the lives of many.
Some wait over a year to receive a transplant. As of 2008 the median wait times for transplants are heart 113 days, lungs 141 days, liver 361 days, kidney 1, 219 days, pancreas 260 days, and intestine159 days. The wait for patients and their families can seem like decades through suffering, the recovery process is long and stressful but well worth it for everyone. Once a patient receives a transplant they must be very careful of their health and be sure to eat the healthiest foods possible. Last year alone 28,000 transplants were made possible, another million received cornea and tissue transplants that helped them recover from trauma, bone damage, spinal injuries, burns, hearing impairments, and vision loss. Unfortunately thousands of people each year die before they receive the chance to get an organ for transplant. You have the power to change that number by donating. Donating does not interfere with your life at all until after death.
I believe that every person has a purpose. After my research on organ donation I have found my purpose, to bring about change by making everyone aware of the importance in becoming an organ donor. With three simple steps you can sign up at your local Department of Motor Vehicles or online at donatelife.org. By signing up to be an organ donor you not only make a difference in the world but you donate life, sign up today.