Facts About Organ Donation and Organ Transplantation Essay

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

According to United Network for Organ Sharing (2010) organ donations and transplantation are the removal of organs and tissues from one person and placed into another person’s body. The need for organ transplantation usually occurs when the recipient organ has failed (UNOS, 2010). Organ donation can save the lives of many individuals who are on the waiting list for an organ donation. Becoming an organ donor can be a difficult decision. Many people have the false beliefs about being an organ donor. An example would be if organ donor is on their driver’s license and a person is in a life-threatening accident everything will not be done to save their life. There is an increase need for organ donors and unfortunately the need for organ

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.

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.

Organ transplantation is a term that most people are familiar with. When a person develops the need for a new organ either due to an accident or disease, they receive a transplant, right? No, that 's not always right. When a person needs a new organ, they usually face a long term struggle that they may never see the end of, at least while they are alive. The demand for transplant organs is a challenging problem that many people are working to solve. Countries all over the world face the organ shortage epidemic, and they all have different laws regarding what can be done to solve it. However, no country has been able to create a successful plan without causing moral and ethical dilemmas.

The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network is a public and private organization that was created in 1984. The organization was created by the National Organ Transplant Act. The network joins all professionals that support and who are involved in the organ donation and transplantation system throughout the United States. The institution also connects people that have signed donor cards and who also support the system of organ donation and transplantation. The main goal of the OPTN is to raise the number of organ transplants and to improve the access to organ transplants as well. The organization also thrives to create higher survival rates for after a transplantation and to ensure patient safety. The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network has supported over 30,000 organ transplant surgeries, those of which have saved thousands of lives. The OPTN has contributed to the success of organ transplantation for many years and it continues to do

Attention getter: Would you be stunned to acknowledge that an average of 20 individuals die every day because of the lack of accessible organ donors? (Data from Unos)

In modern medicine, we have the ability to transplant organs from one person to another, with the hopes that this will greatly improve the length and quality of life for the patient receiving the transplant. Ten years ago, there were 53,167 people on the transplant list. By the beginning of 2015, the list increased to over 123,000 people waiting for that miracle call stating that they found a match and the transplant can now happen. One reason for the increase in people on the list is that people in the age group between 50-70 years old are now considered to be viable candidates for transplant due to medical advances. However, by December, 2014, twenty-one people were dying each day while waiting for a transplant. (Benjamin Samstein,

D. Thesis - Organ donation and Transplants are the most remarkable success stories in the history of medicine. They give hope to

In addition, surgeons have learned how to keep increasingly patients alive longer and how to make more people eligible for transplants. Still, there are shortage of organs donation. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), a non-profit, scientific and educational organization, organizes transplant registration. 3448 people died in 1995 because organs were not available for them in time. A third to a half of all people on waiting lists die before an organ can be found for them. This shortage raises several difficult ethical problems. How should the limited supply of organs be distributed? Should donors be encouraged to donate by the use of financial incentives? Opponents of the sale of organs point out that the inevitable result will be further exploitation of poor people by the

Main Point 1: Organ donation is such a simple and selfless action one takes to save the lives of others. Now much of what we will we discuss, also applies to living donation, but we will focus on deceased donation. The number of patients waiting for organs far exceeds the number of people who have registered to become organ donors. According to UNOS, every 10 minutes, a new name is added to the national transplant list. 20 people die everyday from the lack of available organs. Just one deceased person, can save up to 8 lives, 9 lives if you split the liver. Now if you donate tissues, you can improve the lives of up to 50 people! The need for organ donation is growing every minute. You can see why we need to register.

During the opening, it was mentioned that every age, race and ethnic group is effected and have a need for organ donations. Below are graphs from the US Department of Health & Human Services that clearly illustrate the needs for the waiting recipients. Illustration 1 shows the percentage of waiting candidates by their ethnicity. Statistically, Latinos suffer from obesity which leads to diabetes and heart disease. African Americans suffer higher rate of diabetes and high blood pressure. Asians and Hawaiians reportedly have a higher rate of kidney and liver diseases. Each of these dispositions can lead to other complications effecting the organs and eventually causing organ failure, even with treatment. Illustration 2 show that the people needing an organ donation is not limited to the aged or infirmed but range from newborn to over 65 years old.

Organ transplantation is a medical act which involves the surgical operating by transferring or removing of an organ from one person to the other, or placing the organ of a donor into the body of a recipient for the replacement of the recipients damaged or failed organ which resulted from impairment of normal physiological function affecting part or all of an organism or an act that causes someone to receive physical damage.

First of all, it is important to understand the history of organ donation. It is not only important to know the history, but to examine the differences between donation in the past and what it is like today. Although many forms of study are always improving, Medicine is one that is constantly and drastically changing. Throughout the past century, all practices of healthcare have changed almost completely. Through technology and brilliant minds, medicine has boomed in opportunities. When a sick individual would be sent home to die almost twenty years ago, there are now endless treatments and possibilities today. Along with the boom of