When an individual becomes sixteen years of age, they are faced with a life changing decision: whether or not they should become an organ donor. While a person is deciding whether or not to become an organ donor for life, they are choosing to donate their organs to other individuals once they have passed away. Although an individual may not believe becoming an organ donor can have an effect on a person’s life, they are tragically mistaken. While the choice to become an organ donor has an effect on the donor’s family, it also has an unimaginable effect on not only the recipient’s life and the family’s lives as well. Organ donations are made possible due to the unexpected deaths of individuals that are willing to donate their organs to people …show more content…
This is a common belief among many individuals which in turn causes them to opt out of becoming an organ donor. However, many individuals don’t realize when they opt out of becoming a donor due to this belief; they are then possibly causing another individual to lose their life. For instance, if an individual believed they would receive a lesser amount of medical attention and decided not to become an organ donor, then one day contracted a life-threatening medical problem and passed away because of it even though they received the normal amount of medical attention, their organs would then be of no use because they never gave permission for their organs to be donated to those individuals who needed them. This in turn means one of the one hundred and twenty thousand individuals on the organ transplantation list will most likely lose their life, because one selfish individual was more concerned about living their own life as opposed to sacrificing their life for another
Since that time donation has been the only way to increase the current supply of transplantable organs. Some people are uncomfortable with the idea of organ donation due to misconceptions and lack of knowledge. In fact, organ transplant recipient Dr. Phil H. Berry, Jr. points out that there would be less deaths of people waiting for transplants, “if Americans would overcome their reluctance to become organ donors” (29). Organ donation whether it is upon your death or giving a part of a liver or one kidney while you are alive is a charitable gesture towards your fellow man and could give meaning to the end of your life. The mere act of donating could bring more peace to your loved ones at the time of your death and as a result, you could give
For over 13 year I have worked in healthcare and I have seen multiple patients die from organ failure as they waited on the transplant list. I’ve seen patients lose their quality of life as they sit in hospitals for weeks and months at a time as they waited for a kidney transplant. I also know people who have donated the organs of their loved ones and were blessed to know that their loss was the beginning of another person’s life.
1. Organ donation is a selfless way to give back to others, and to be able to make a huge difference by giving another person a second chance at life.
Ultimately, being an organ donor saves lives and that itself is a gift of life. Life is not something you can get back that’s what makes life precious. For example, losing a love one is always a tough situation and knowing that you could have done something about it will haunt you for the rest of your life. Lifesaving organ is not only a problem for the U.S. but around the world. There are nearly 7,000 unnecessary deaths each for people not being able to receive these organs (Forbes). As humanity we have to take in consideration that we will not need organs in the afterlife. These very well organs don’t have to go to waste it can very well help a person in need of one. Organ donation is not an easy decision to make but this is the
Becoming a living organ donor helps to increase the amount of organs that can be supplied to those who are in need of them. A living organ donor can be distinguished into one of three groups: they are involved in a direct donation, giving their organs to someone they choose such as a family member or a friend; they can be involved in a non-directed donation in which they give their organ to a national pool and it will be transplanted into a patient who is at the top of the waiting list; or a living donor can be involved with a directed donation to a stranger and in this case, the donor chooses to donate their organ to a specified person who they do not have any emotional connection with. (Truog, Robert D). Many ethical questions come into
The organs that can be donated are: heart, kidneys, lungs, pancreas, liver, intestines, corneas, skin, tendons, bone, nerves, and heart valves. For example, bones can help someone live pain free. Also, eye and tissues can allow someone to see again. Next, bone marrow may be the only hope for people and kids with leukemia and other deadly diseases (source 5). It addition, it helps donors feel good about themselves. Furthermore, organ donation is less expensive than other treatments. Finally, it lets people have a hope for their lives. Most organ transplants are matched by blood and organs, but sometimes people have no hope and they get an organ that does not match their blood type. The good outcomes of organ donation are very high and most always work. The main reason sometimes organs don’t work is because they fail to connect to the blood flow of the body (source
Organ donation begins with a person who recognizes an opportunity to help others, enrolls in a state donor registry, and shares the decision to be a donor with family members and friends. The culmination of
Imagine yourself in a situation where your best friend got in a car accident and needs a kidney transplant. When the doctor receives the news that you’re the only applicable person because of blood type, all eyes are on you. What would you do? Would you give or keep? Savings lives can be something that is dreaded or heroic. In fact, each day, an average of 79 people receive organ transplants because of the generous. However, an average of 21 people die each day waiting for transplants that can 't take place because of the shortage of donated organs (Organdonor.gov). How can we fix this? Are you the friend that will give a helping hand or one that will run away? Currently, more than 120 million people in the U.S. are signed up to be a donor. But statistics can be hard to come by and something that can change the outlook on the way one looks at life is to recognize every number as a person. That person could be in need of a lifesaving transplant or a person who has legacy in being an active organ donor to many hoping for a favor in return. Not matter what, each number could be a mom, dad, brother, sister, grandparent, child or a best friend. What matters most is that number equals a life lost or lived by a transplant. Being a donor myself, there are many stigmas and false accusations about this topic and in becoming an organ donor after death it is not only an important decision for oneself to know the truth about this opportunity, but it is also one step closer to simply
Organ donations not only save lives but also money and time. If organ donations became prevalent the organ recipient would no longer need dialysis. Since there is no need for dialysis the cost to use the machine would lessen; this means that the cost of equipment would decrease, saving the hospital and insurance company’s money. More lives would be saved as well as benefit from those that no longer need an organ. In the book titled “Elements of Bioethics” adult organ transplants are only that have medical insurance. If organs are taken from recently deceased the cost for those that has no medical coverage was lessen. The process of organ transplantation is life changing and time is crucial. With shorter waiting time it would put ease on the person’s heart to know that this lifesaving event would happen sooner rather than later. In addition, when the organ is taken from the recently deceased the risk would be eliminated from
The first step in becoming an organ donor is when an individual agrees to release their organs after death. Emergency personnel can recognize this by a certification on a driver’s license or a ‘dog tag.’ There are many reasons why someone would choose to become an organ donor; religion and
Organ donation is a successful process of removing tissues or organs surgically from one person to another (Cleveland Clinic, 2013). Many questions based on organ donation run along the lines of why people do not donate, but many do not realize that not everyone is allowed or able to donate because some people are not physically capable to have a successful transplant (Prigent et al., 2014). Meaning that the donor’s organs are too weak, or the donor’s organs are too old, in some cases the donor and recipient do not have the same blood type, which then causes alloimmunization (Kawano et al., 2014; Prigent et al., 2014). In the United States, there are more than 117,000 people waiting for an organ donor and 18 people on the waiting list die
Generally, there are more patients on a waiting list for organs than there are organ donors, which cause a vast shortage in organ donation (Bilgel, 2012). Compared to the 220 patients who were waiting for organs, deceased donor transplants only had 129 in Wales in 2014(NHS, 2016). Thus, a new opt-out organ donation was enacted in Human Transplantation Act of Wales in 2013 to solve this issue, which was implemented in 2015. According to Welsh government, the opt-out organ donation could be said those aged 18 or over who choose to do nothing, and have lived in Wales for more than 12 months, will be regarded as having consented to organ donation (2015). What’s more, this system is a soft one means where relatives' views are sought, although the
The donor has to believe that all life is sacred and that anyone who receives the “ultimate gift” of a donor organ will be grateful and be imbued with a sense of gratitude and a desire to pay it forward. According to the American Transplant Foundation, organ recipients are selected based primarily on medical need, location and compatibility. Although selections are based on who needs an organ immediately and compatibility, people are selfish and still focus on the fact that they will not know who their organs are going to and the unknown keeps them from becoming an organ donor.
As you read this, two people have just died. Within those two people is enough tissue to save as many as 100 lives and enough organs to save 16 of the 165,000 people waiting for a organ transplant in USA. Yet, not enough people are choosing to become organ donors, becoming an organ donor should be the choice that more people are making. Choosing to not donate your organs means that you are depriving someone of a live and researchers the materials to perform their investigations. Not only does organ donation save someone's life but you yourself will be able to morally benefit by granting someone with more time than they were give. 21 people per day die waiting for an organ, you could be the one to grant them more time, by saying yes.
Imagine you or one of your loved ones were on a waiting list for a new organ that you would not be able to survive without. You spent your days in the hospital hooked up to machines waiting for the doctors to walk in and say “we found an organ for you.” Do you think that this would influence your opinion on becoming an organ donor? It could happen to anyone of any age, race or gender. In fact, it is happening to many people right at this moment. “In Ontario we currently have 1509 people waiting for an organ transplant as of September 30th, 2017.” (“About Organ Donation” 2017).