Dana Farber Case Study

Donating blood improves cardiovascular health. Reducing heart attacks can be solved by reducing your blood viscosity, which is how thick and sticky your blood is. It’s caused by too much iron building up in the arties. Men are at a higher risk for cardiovascular disease than women. There are studies that show that out of 3,000 men 88% of the ones who donated blood had less risk of a heart attack by 50% then those who didn’t donate at all. Also when you go to donate blood it’s like getting a free mini check-up. They check your blood pressure, heart rate, temperature and iron levels.

1. People of all ages and backgrounds can be organ donors, and if you are under 18, you must get permission from your parent before registering as an organ donor.

Our nation has a major blood shortage which results in a national health crisis. States all over the nation are reporting the need for blood donors and the importance of having donors to help those who are directly affected. There has been a recent rise in shortage due to the increased demand of high complex surgeries which require a large supply of blood. McMillan reports, “just one liver transplant can take 120 units of donated blood” (Zabarenko, 2016). It is imperative to bring attention to this social problem, and begin to search for possible solutions, as well as identifying gaps in the policy before seeking policy revision. Experts indicate that “the only solution is for this problem is to persuade people to become donors” (Nagourney, 2009).

The Red Cross provides blood for patients in approximately 2,600 hospitals across the U.S. The Red Cross makes blood available to any patient who needs it — patients are not required to find donors to replace the blood they use allowing the patient and their family to focus on recovery. Eighty percent of the blood donations given to the Red Cross are collected at mobile blood drives set up at community organizations, companies, high schools, and colleges, places of worship or military installations. The remaining 20 percent are collected at Red Cross donation centers. The American Red Cross works with more than 50,000 blood drive sponsors each year to hold more than 200,000 blood drives, providing convenient locations for people to give

The Iowa Donor Network (IDN) is near and dear to my heart because when my brother died at fourteen his organs were donated and have helped so many people. One lady named Robin who was a critical diabetic got my brother’s kidney and pancreas. An adoption agency would not let Robin adopt any babies because of her condition. However, there were two babies that were highly addicted to crack cocaine that had been sexually and physically abused. Nobody wanted them, but Robin did. After Robin received my brother’s transplant she was able to give these children a life that no one else would give them. This has taught me how important being an organ donor can be. Not only am I an organ donor on my license, but through advertising with the IDN, I am

The Glenda Dawson Donate Life Registry program potentially may or may not work. The number of patients that are in need for an organ transplant are growing. While the number of organ donors is substantially low, “most living donations are to family… (Britannica School,2010).” The Glenda Dawson Donate Life Registry educates and recruits people outside the family raising the number of organ donors throughout Texas. Thus achieving their goal in the organ donation field.

In living organ donation, before a donor can donate there are tests administrated to see if the donor is suitable to donate. There is an evaluation of the donor done to make sure that no physical, psychological, or emotional harm will happen to them before, during, or after donating (Organdonor.gov U.S. Government Information on Organ Donation and Transplantation). In living organ donation, most donations happen within family members, or between close friends, although there are stranger donations that happen. Living organ donors should generally be physically fit, in good health, and between the ages of 18 to 60. They should not have a history or have diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, kidney disease, or heart disease

To become an organ donor, all you need to do is fill out a form, which you can find on the New York State Department of Health Website. (http://www.nyhealth.gov) Becoming an organ donor is easy and free. The online form asks you very simple questions, such as your name, date of birth, and which organs or tissues you wish to donate. If you are under the age of 18, you can still choose to be an organ donor with parental consent. Anyone can decide to be a donor. A person’s medical history, race, age, and other characteristics are disregarded until your time of donation. Medical Professionals will determine how suitable you are for donation when you die. After filling out the form, you receive a card that is proof to give the doctor’s permission to operate and remove your organs or tissues from your body.

Dana’s illnesses are unrelenting and constant in their ability to bring her to tears. Some medications ease the issues, but none to abate the pain. Ascites creates more than just pain, it makes misery.

Anyone who wants to donate, is allowed (“Frequently Asked Question’s”). However, “Your medical condition at the time of death will determine what organs and tissues can be donated for the transplant or scientific research” (“Frequently Asked Questions”). That also means that someone can not be too young, or too old to be a deceased organ donor, or a living donor (“Who Can Donate”). A deceased donor is when someone passes away and then they donate their organs. A living donor is when someone donates their organs while they are still alive, and they only date one of their organs if they have a pair and still live with one, like one liver. Another reason is that most, if not all religions support organ donation so it does not matter what religion they are (“Who Can Donate”).

Strengths: Ability to gain donations at a fast pace, available in 175 countries, supplies blood to 30,000 hospitals, recognized organization worldwide.

The topic of blood donation well-researched, with strategies having been devised to try and increase donation rates all over the world. Australia faces a challenging set of circumstances, in which remuneration for donation is illegal (ARCBS, 2013). It is thought this may be a contributing factor to the poor repeat donation rates in youth demographics, for whom altruism is no longer a primary driving factor when considering donation (Russell-Bennett, Hartel, Previte & Russel, 2012).

Just imagine if one of your brothers or sisters was born with a heart defect and had to have daily transfusions of blood in order to have a chance of survival. Unfortunately, things happen like this everyday and some of you may have experienced them already. In this essay I am going to persuade you to become a blood donor. I try to donate blood every two months or so because it makes me feel like I am doing something good and saving people’s lives. Do you know that 95% of all Americans will need a blood transfusion sometime in our lives (Red Cross web site)? That statistic means that there is a possibility that you, and your family and friends could need support from volunteer blood donors. In this essay I will discuss the need for blood donations, solutions that can increase blood donations, and actions that need to be taken to increase blood donations.

| Family and friends’ need for blood donation increases young people’s awareness of blood donation.

Much like the American Red Cross, America’s Blood Centers are also not funded through the government. Instead, individual donors are the main contributors who provide the funding for all of ABC’s activities. Similar to ARC, ABC has to depend heavily on their personal selling to ensure stable donations come in.