Essay about Organ Donation -Saving Lives

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

Liver Allocation is an ethical dilemma for healthcare providers and patients. An article published in the American Journal of Critical-Care Nurses entitled “The Power of The Liver Transplant Waiting List: A Case Presentation” discusses a 60 year old woman with cirrhosis was placed on the liver transplant list under the category “status 7”. Status 7 is an inactive state and are considered unsuitable to receive transplant surgery. Liver allocation is done by an organization called the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), and the way they rank patients to receive a transplant is by a Model End Staged Liver Disease (MELD). It is scored from 6 to 40, and those with a high scores are the ones to receive a liver transplant (Hansen, Yan, and Rosenkranz,

Organ donation is the medical process of voluntarily giving one or more of your organs to someone in need, whether it be someone you know or a stranger. It is strictly voluntary, no payment for the organ/s will be given from the hospital, the recipient or the recipients family. In organ donation, there are two types of donations, living organ donation and deceased organ donation. Living organ donation is when the donor is still alive and voluntarily chooses to donate one or more of their organs to a recipient(s) in need. Whereas, deceased organ donation happens after the donor has passed away, and consent was given to be able to donate their organs.

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.

One other factor that is evaluated in transplantation allocation is the correct blood type. This factor is crucial for transplants since the wrong blood type can lead to death. This tragedy had occurred to 17-year-old Jessica Santillian at Duke University Hospital when surgeons had given her a heart and two lungs with the wrong blood type. She and the rest of her family came “...to the United States from Mexico four years ago, smuggled into the country illegally by her parents in search of treatment for a life-threatening heart and lung disorder that doctors in Mexico could not fix. They moved to North Carolina.” (Kopp). After an hour and 15 minutes after the transplant was completed, her body started to reject the new organs. “The antibodies in her blood began attacking and destroying her new organs, and she later slipped into a light coma” (Kopp). The surgeons discovered that Jessica’s blood type was type O, yet the blood type of the new organs was type A. The surgeon in charge, Dr. Jaggers, was informed by the Carolina Donor Services about the donor’s blood type; however, he did not seem to recall the conversation and no one else double checked. He decided that it to improve the current situation, Jessica was to be given a second transplant,

Thesis: Alcoholics should not be excluded as candidates for liver transplant because there is no valid moral or medical reason.

With limited number or organs available to those in need of a new one, there must be a way in which people are granted their spot on the recipient list. Many factors in organ allocation must be considered as organs are a scarce resource. Such factors must include, life style, age, prognosis, other comorbidities and most importantly the cause for the transplant. To explore these ideas, I will focus on the Zambrano article introduced in class. In this article, the author explores the argument of responsibility in respect to people with Alcohol Related End of Stage Liver Disease (ARESLD). The argument of responsibility states that “alcoholics who have ARESLD should be given lower priority for (scarce) medical resources when they are competing

Innovative advances in the practice of medicine have increased the life span of the average American. This along with the growing population in the United States and has created a shortfall in the number of organs available for transplant today. The current system of allocation used to obtain organs for transplant faces difficulty because of two primary reasons according to Moon (2002). The two perceptions that stop potential organs donors are that the allocation criteria is unfair and favors certain members of society and/or that organs may be allocated to someone who has destroyed their organs by misuse (Moon, 2002). Many individuals decline to donate organs because anyone requiring an organ transplant is placed on a waiting list and it is possible that individuals who have destroyed their organs by their own actions or convicted criminals could receive donated organs before someone whose organs are failing through no fault of their own and positively contribute to society. When a celebrity or wealthy individual requires a transplant they are often viewed as "jumping" the waitlist but

In a world where life expectancy has increased tremendously over the last century because of new technology and medical procedures, we find humanity ever pushing the boundaries on what it can do to prevent loss of life where possible. One example is the area of organ donation and transplantation. However, unlike many other technologies or procedures which can be built, manufactured, or learned, organ transplantation requires one thing that we can’t create yet: an organ itself. Because our increased life span causes more people to require a replacement organ when theirs starts to fail, the demand has far outrun the supply and the future only looks to get worse. “Between the years 1988 and 2006 the number of transplants doubled, but the

In February 2003, 17-year-old Jesica Santillan received a heart-lung transplant at Duke University Hospital that went badly awry because, by mistake, doctors used donor organs from a patient with a different blood type. The botched operation and subsequent unsuccessful retransplant opened a discussion in the media, in internet chat rooms, and in ethicists' circles regarding how we, in the United States, allocate the scarce commodity of organs for transplant. How do we go about allocating a future for people who will die without a transplant? How do we go about denying it? When so many are waiting for their shot at a life worth living, is it fair to grant multiple organs or multiple

Every thirty minutes someone gets added to the waiting list for an organ transplant (‘Frequently Asked Questions”). Not only that, but the number of patients being added to the waiting list is growing larger than the number of donors (“Organ Donation Statistics”). Many people are in the need of some kind of organ donation, so anyone who donates can help to save many lives. Organ donation is also such a great way to give back to people. Another thing is that to donate an organ a person does not have to pay money (“Organ Donation FAQ’s”). The only part that costs money is for the funeral if they are a deceased donor (“Organ Donation FAQ’s”).

Organ donation is a sacrifice that can touch many people through one person’s unselfish gift. Granted that gift most often comes after a tragic loss of a loved one. As the bearer of three functioning kidneys, I have always considered organ donation to be the expected norm. But today, the focus will be to enlighten you on the reasons to consider organ donation. Organ donations are needed for every age group, race, and ethnic groups. Each person should take the opportunity to extend the gift of life to another individual through organ donation.

A person’s age and their lifestyle can impact overall organ transplant success. Physiologic age impacts major organ systems such as the kidneys and other underlying medical problems (Eisen, 2017). Mr. Smith is 26 years older with declining health. On the other hand, Mr. Rodriquez is a healthy individual with mild hypertension. Physical inactivity can be associated with an increased risk of morbidity or worsening chronic disease and health conditions such as cardiovascular disease and congestive heart failure (Warren et al., 2010). According to the article from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), alcohol consumption plays a role in the development of heart failure. Excessive drinking leads to alcoholic cardiomyopathy (Djoussé & Gaziano, 2008). Alcoholic cardiomyopathy is characterized by left ventricular dilation, increased left ventricular mass, and reduced or normal left ventricular wall thickness (Djoussé & Gaziano, 2008). Mr. Smith’s heavy consumption of alcohol may become detrimental to his heart, liver, and kidney function. His comorbidities and

Getting a liver transplant is not as easy as that. There are certain qualifications that one must meet in order to be placed on the transplant list. For a person to become a candidate, they must be in end stage liver disease, the condition has not improved with standard medical and surgical treatments, they cannot have H.I.V, A.I.D.S, or any other systemic infection, and they must understand the process and the risks involved. Patients will not be

Flashback to when you were sixteen years old. Young, naive, and about to be ruling the streets with your very own Driver’s License. You passed your written and physical driving exams, but before you are able to get your “right of passage”, you must indicate whether or not you are willing to donate your organs in the case of your death. But how does one know which box to check? It is your responsibility to educate yourself in the matter because ignorance is not always bliss. Knowing the costs, benefits, and process can be very beneficial. Luckily, the following is some basic, and maybe not so basic, information on the topic. Organ Donation is a very broad and complicated topic. To consider organ, and tissue, donation as a whole, it is important to examine the history, forms, and big picture of the donation.