Organ Donation For An Organ Transplant

What is organ donation? Organ donation is the process of surgically removing an organ or tissue from one person (the organ donor) and placing it into another person (the recipient). There are currently 116,000+ men women and children on the national transplant waiting list as of August 2017. From this continuously growing transplant list, there are 20+ people that die each day while waiting for a transplant. Transplantation is necessary because the recipient's organ has failed or has been damaged by disease or injury. From the donor's body, there can be many organs and tissues used to save lives such as the heart for conditions such as heart disease, transplant is often sometimes the only option patients with heart conditions because medication or conventional operations no longer work. Another organ that can be

Death is inevitable and no one knows what happens after someone dies. Being an organ donor could mean the body of the deceased would be taken away from the family members when they die. But, in a way, the deceased

Both state and federal legislation has been put in place to provide the safest and most equitable system for allocation, distribution, and transplantation of donated organs” (HRSA, n.d.). Consent is required from a patient regardless of the intervention from a physical examination to organ donation. It can be given: Verbally-for example, by saying they are happy to have an X-ray or in writing-for example, by signing a consent form for surgery. There are two types of organ donation: living and deceased. Donated organs are given to someone who has damaged organs that need to be replaced. An organ transplant may save a person's life or significantly improve their health and quality of

Justin, a South Carolina college student, died at the age of 23 while on the waiting list for a lung transplant. When Justin was three months old he was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a disease which affects the lungs. Throughout his childhood he coped with his illness but at the age of 20 his health took a turn for the worst. Justin was on the waiting list for two years but no lungs came available in time. Organ allocation in the United States of America has become a heavily debated subject in the medical field as well as the political and ethical fields. There is no doubt that there is a shortage of organs in the United States. In order to increase organ supply the American Department of Health should integrate the effective allocation

Organ Donation is a very sensitive subject; there are so few people who have chosen to donate. In the tragic event of a loved one’s

The rule of the dead-donor “states that the vital organs should be taken only from persons who are dead” (R. Truog MD, F. Miller PhD, and S. Halpern MD PhD). Some cases have denied patients that were near death on life support from being allowed to donation their organs do to the dead- donor rule. The dead-donor rule requires a “criteria for declaring patients’ dead while their organs are still alive” (R. Truog MD, F. Miller MD PhD, and S. Halper MD PhD). The definition of brain-dead and the scientific definition of life/death does not match and creates problems when it comes down to making the decision of donating organs of a patient who does not quite meet the criteria/requirement of the dead-donor

The donor is normally an unfortunate individual who has suffered an incurable brain injury, called "brain death". Very often these are patients who have had major issues towards the head, for example, in a motorbike accident. The victim's vital organs, other than the brain, are working fine with the help of medications and other life support device. A team of physicians, nurses, and technicians goes to the hospital of the donor to remove donated organs once brain death of the donor has been confirmed. The removed organs are transported in cold temperatures to keep them alive until they can be inserted. For the heart, this is roughly less than six hours. So, the organs are usually flown by airplane, helicopter or the quickest way possible to the receiver's hospital.

Organ donations have encountered organ donor, and as a result, organ supply decreases. Over the years, organ donation challenges and demands increase inversely in proportion to the organ shortages. The primary mission of donor’s organizations is to save as many terminally ill recipients at the end stages of their lives as possible with an end goal of giving these recipients a normal a life span. The significance of organ donation is to restore an ailing person’s quality of life. The ongoing issue of organ shortages may be a symptom of the current program that present an idealistic portrait of how these issues may be resolved. As a result, the mission and ultimate goal of organizations such as UNOS and Donate Life America, among others, is to obtain viable organs for their patients and to promote; education, empower altruism and establish quality ethics, and act as a resource for existing and potential donors.

There has been an increase in the number of organs donated for transplantation since the development and acceptance of brain death. (Guidelines for the determination of death, 1981) The strict rules surrounding the diagnosis and the ability to develop individualized Policy and Procedures in the determination of brain death has removed the fear of law suite surrounding this definition of death. (Guidelines for the determination of death, 1981)

Organ Transplants are an extensive and complicated process, but the results are life changing to the person receiving and even donating their organs. There are two types of donors, living and deceased. Deceased donation is when a patient in the hospital dies, is declared brain dead, and it either in the donor registry or is appointed to be a donor by next of kin. Deceased donors must have, “irreversible loss of all functions of the brain, including the brain stem” (Consent 1) in order for patients to be considered as donors. Patients in comas will never be permitted to donate organs because their brains are still functioning. Deceased donors must be placed on a ventilator in order to keep blood and oxygen flowing through their organs, which

Within the past few years, the demand for organs has increased at an alarming rate. This is due mostly to the fact that diseases and illnesses are becoming more prevalent and are brought on due to a significant change in American lifestyles. Failing organs can be caused by certain ways of living such as being a smoker or becoming obese. Many people are in need of a vital organ or know someone who needs an organ; these people are greatly impacted by a decision involving organ donation. Vital organs, such as the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, and liver are involved, which means these people are in life and death situations. While organ transplants have created a way to give and receive life to others, the process has actually become controversial

A deceased donor can give two kidneys, liver, two lungs, heart, pancreas, and intestines (Senk

The cause of death is actually what determines if organ donation is an option. Most people who actually become organ donors suffer fatal head injuries, either from something like a car accident or a brain aneurysm or stroke. After the person is admitted to the hospital, if nothing else can be done to save him or her, organ donation is finally brought into the picture. After death has occurred an examination of the potential donor’s physical and historical status is conducted. In this examination, a physician examines the current physical state of the potential donor. For example, if the individual’s cause of death damaged certain organs, then those organs would be ruled out. The medical history of the potential donor is also examined. For example, the individual being a smoker would determine them ineligible. If everything checks out the potential recipients are examined to determine if the operation can be

“When you go to the hospital for treatment, doctors focus on saving your life — not somebody else's. You'll be seen by a doctor whose specialty most closely matches your particular condition.” In more times than none the donor is pronounced brain dead or is in coma that the donor will not come out of. Once the donor has been pronounced decreased the organs cannot be used because the blood flow has stopped and the organs die. If a doctor was to let their patient die so they could harvest the organs it would not be beneficial to the waiting list in anyway unless the body was still living or if the donor is donating bone or

If somebody is brain dead they can donate their heart, intestines, kidneys, liver, lungs, and pancreas. If somebody dies from a different cause they will most likely be able to donate their tissues. After death people can donate their bones, cartilage, corneas, fascia, heart valves, ligaments, pericardium, skin, tendons, and veins (What can be donated). “People can recover from comas, but not brain death. Coma and brain death are not the same. Brain death is final” (Learn the Facts). Many people worry that their loved one is in a coma and not brain dead, or that their brain will start functioning at any second. It can be hard to accept brain death.