Organ Donation

Today we are in great need of a solution to solve the problem of the shortage of human organs available for transplant. The website for Donate Life America estimates that in the United States over 100 people per day are added to the current list of over 100,000 men, women, and children that are waiting for life-saving transplants. Sadly enough, approximately 18 people a day on that list die just because they cannot outlive the wait for the organ that they so desperately need to survive. James Burdick, director of the Division of Transplantation for the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services confirms, “The need for organ transplants continues to grow and this demand continues to outpace the supply of transplantable organs”. The

One person can give life to as many as eight people through organ donation, and enhance the lives of up to fifty people through cornea and tissue donation.

Central Idea: The need is constantly growing for organ donors and it is very simple to be an organ donor when you no longer need your organs.

Now that organ transplantation has become a popular medical solution to end-stage organ failure, about every 10 minutes another person in need of an

Recent medical advances have greatly enhanced the ability to successfully transplant organs and tissue. Forty-five years ago the first successful kidney transplant was performed in the United States, followed twenty years later by the first heart transplant. Statistics from the United Network for Organ Sharing (ONOS) indicate that in 1998 a total of 20,961 transplants were performed in the United States. Although the number of transplants has risen sharply in recent years, the demand for organs far outweighs the supply. To date, more than 65,000 people are on the national organ transplant waiting list and about 4,000 of them will die this year- about 11 every day- while waiting for a chance to extend their life through organ donation

The medical industry had been achieving more in the stage of medical advancements, though they are still in the early phase. Artificial organs have been one of those achievements. Although they have achieved such, artificial organs are not perfect. Most doctors as well as patients would prefer to replace a dying organ with a compatible human organ, rather than with an artificial or animal organ. Yet due to a there being less organs donated than recipients, artificial and animal organs are becoming more common in transplants. Most of this issue is because people are unaware of how organ donation works, the organs that can be donated, how many people are in need, and the advancements that have happened in the field. Organ donation saves hundreds of lives every year, but many lives are recklessly lost due to a shortage of organ donors.

Specific purpose: To persuade my audience to donate their organs and tissues when they die and to act upon their decision to donate.

I will tell you why organ donors are life savers, how you can become one, the commons myths and Why this topic is very important to me

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

Attention Getter: Let’s look at the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network. They tell us that 116,567 people need a lifesaving organ transplant. Of those, 75,685 people are active the waiting list candidates. There are only 12,212 donors total donors as of 2017.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, every ten minutes a name is added to the National Transplant waiting list. As of December 1, 2015, there are 122,477 people that need a lifesaving operation and are on the transplant waiting list. While on the waiting list, there is an average of 22 people that die every day. So far, only 23,134 transplants have been done in 2015. (U.S. Depart.of Health and Human Services) This incredibly low number of transplants is why more people should become organ donors. Choosing to become an organ donor provides the opportunity to save up to eight lives and improve the quality of life for many others with tissue donation. An organ donor can also provide comfort to the grieving family: the loss of the loved one will be helping others to live. Becoming an organ donor is much easier than many think. The decision can literally be done in just minutes.

Also the department of health and human services states that “ everyday, an average of seventy nine people receive a transplant. However twenty two people die each day waiting for transplants that can’t take place from shortages of organ donations.” “S2” Even if you can get a organ you body still has a

“Everyday, 79 people receive a transplant, but at least 20 people die waiting, because of the shortage of donated organs.” (Brazier) Due to the shortage of organs, this causes many people to go to extreme measures to save a loved one. Maybe even to the point of doing something illegal. The more we help promote and contribute to organ donation, the more lives we can save.

Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience to donate their organs and tissues when they die and to act upon their decision to donate.

To confirm the lack of supply in organ transplantation, it is necessary to assemble some evidence, as derived from the eight steps of policy analysis proposed by Bardach. Aside from the statistics previously stated, while comparative to the ethical discrepancy to which people refute the commercialization of organ sale, as presented by The Atlantic, “there’s a large disparity between the number of people who say that they are in support of donation in theory and the number of people who actually register” (Wen). Furthering to imply that the only individuals that are likely to donate are those that have been personally afflicted by the need of organ donation. For example, an individual whose family member needs a heart/kidney/liver. As society begins to advance technologically, there is a growing lack of empathy, a growing lack of care for other individuals. Relying on the few that claim to support organ donation is a form of regression, especially when it is evident that “more than 123,000 people in the United States are currently on the waiting list of a lifesaving organ transplant” (Facts and Myths), with more individuals “added to the national transplant waiting list