The Misinformation Of Organ Donation

Please try and consider the following situation. You’re sitting in an emergency room, waiting for your dad to awake after falling into liver failure, costing him to need a new liver. Not knowing if it’s possible, crossing your fingers. You wish you could help, but you can’t. Someone else can. An organ donor. According to organdonor.gov, about 116,000 U.S. citizens are waiting on the organ transplant list as of August 2017. To put that number into perspective, that’s more than double the amount of people that can fit into Yankee Stadium. And to make matters worse, 20 people each day die waiting for a transplant.(organdonor.gov) Organ donation can offer patients a second chance at life and provides

“6,935 people are dying because they had to wait. That’s 19 people dying per day for an entire year”(Barry). That’s nearly 7,000 lives; which is equivalent to to almost 25% of the current undergraduate body here at UW-Madison. According to Dr. Chris Barry, a transplant surgeon and researcher at the University of Rochester Medical Center, “19 people die per day on the organ donor recipient list because there aren’t enough people signing their organ donor consent forms”. He proposes that we need to increase people's knowledge and tear down the myths and barriers of organ donation to facilitate their decision to donate.

122,542. That is the current amount of names on the national organ transplant list. Only about 6% of those people will actually go through a lifesaving organ transplantation within the next year (Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, 2015) due to the short supply of organ donations. Every ten minutes, another person is placed on the waiting list, and every day 22 people on that list die before they ever receive a new organ (Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, 2015). As a result, there is a very intense demand for human organs, but too little people are willing to donate them. The shortage of organs for transplant caused the emergence of organ trafficking which favors a wealthy minority of individuals and exploits the poor

population supports organ donation but only 45% are registered. This is due  to the fact that there are various myths involving transplants and donations of organs. For example, people believe that if they are donors, doctors won't work as hard to save their life, if needed. This is because of misinformation and lack of knowledge revolving around transplants. There are many misconceptions about needing to meet certain requirements to be a donor, such as age and health.

“I think you should automatically donate your organs because that would turn the balance of organ donation in a huge way. I would donate whatever anybody would take, and I 'd probably do the cremation bit.” (George Clooney) Even though people do attribute to organ donation there are just not enough people doing it. When someone chooses to register to donate organs, that person is considered a modern day hero. By means of donation every person who registers to become an organ donor can save the lives of up to 8 other people. As of April 2015 there were 123,193 patients waiting for an organ transplant. Over 100,000 of the patients that are on that list just due to needing a kidney. Every month around 3,000 new patients are added to the waiting list, that comes out to about a new patient every 10 to 14 minutes ("Organ

Every day, 20 people die because they are unable to receive a vital organ transplant that they need to survive. Some of these people are on organ donation lists and some of them are not. The poor and minorities are disproportionately represented among those who do not receive the organs they need. In the United States alone, nearly 116,000 people are on waiting lists for vital organ transplants. Another name is added to this list every 10 minutes. This paper will argue that organ donation should not be optional. Every person who dies, or enters an irreversible vegetative state with little or no brain function, should have his or her organs-more specifically, those among the organs that are suitable for donation-harvested. A single healthy donor who has died can save up to eight lives (American Transplant Foundation).

In the 21st century, it is obvious to the world that there is an organ shortage around the world. Many thousands, hundreds of thousands of people are waiting for organs to save their lives. There are just not enough organs to be spread around to the people who urgently need them. The global response to this problem is very different throughout different countries. Some countries are harvesting organs, some executing prisoners, some paying people to donate, some allowing people to sell them on the black market, and some countries just urging people to donate out of the kindness of their hearts. The organs and tissues you can currently donate (deceased) are; liver, heart, lungs, cornea, tissue, pancreas, kidneys, small intestines, blood, blood vessels, bone marrow and other parts of the bone, heart valves and skin. Organ donation is a very controversial topic, with many nations taking different opinions as a whole. But why are some people so hesitant to donate their organs to the people who really need them?

] Following a wide initiative throughout the country, the task force revealed that there is great willingness among the people to donate under the current system, and that moving to an opt-out system sooner may benefit but carries a significant risk of making the current situation worse. This is due to the fact that many people have fears or skepticism about organ donation based on misconceptions that need to be dispelled. Furthermore, there is extremely low awareness of the organ donor register. There is a strong need to publicise the register and to make the process of registering easier and more widely understood.[ Organ Donation Taskforce. (2008).The Potential Impact Of An Opt Out System For Organ Donation In The UK, An Independent Report From The Organ Donation Taskforce, 31-35.

Due to lack of correct information or myths about organ donation only 30% of US adults are registered as donors.(donatelifeny.net) a. According to the article “organ Donation” by mayoclinic.org it’s a common myth that after registering for donation the hospital staff doesn’t work as hard to save their life - However hospitals perform more tests on donors at no charge to the family to determine that the person is truly dead. b. Many people believe that because they are not in good health they cannot be donors. - In reality one person can donate 6 organs so if a certain organ is not suitable for transplant others might be suitable for it.(donatinglifeny.org)

What is more, not only there is a demand in organ donation, but also a long waiting list. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services statistics states 119,000 are on the waiting list for transplants and every ten minutes an individual is added to this list, as well as 22 people expire each day waiting for a transplant (2015). People don’t look at statistics and this is a huge number to look at the more reason to be an organ donor. People on this waiting list are waiting for some lifesaving miracle and is sad that they chance of them receiving an organ is not that good. For instance, if a person was to need one of these lifesaving organs more than likely they would be one of those statistics that they would die before getting their

“Approximately one in 20 families refuse donation during his or her lifetime” (Nazark 283). Individuals deny organ donation because many are unaware of the need for organ donors and do not see how organ transplants truly benefit those in need. If individuals were more aware of the benefits of transplants, more would donate. “. . . survival rates in patients receiving a heart transplant is about 85 percent after one year and slightly less after two years” ( DeBakey and Gotto 224). The chance of life for an individual with a transplant is significantly high, and more individuals would be more prone to donation if they realized this.

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 not a tragedy, but it can be a beautiful light, in the midst of one” (Unknown). There has been many disbeliefs about donating your organs over the years. The organ demand drastically exceeds the available supply, which is why more people need to be organ donors. People should become organ donors because of the limited availability of organs and the chance to save many lives.

In todays time, the demand for organs have sky rocketed, but the organ supply has dropped tremendously. There are too many people on this planet for their to be others dying from not receiving an organ. Not enough people take the time out to sign up to donate organs. Signing up to become a organ donor is as simple as checking a box on your license form. Being an organ donor does not quickly put an end to your life as most people may think. It simply secures another person 's life once yours has come to an end. If organ donation was made mandatory it could say hundreds of more lives than right now. When a

About seventy-Four people a day receive an organ transplant, however an average of seventeen people die each day waiting for transplants. Did you know that more than 88,000 men, women and children currently await life-saving transplants? Every 12 minutes another name is added to the national transplant waiting list. Of those 88,000 waiting, 61,000 of them are waiting for a kidney. How many of you reading this are organ donors? I use to feel that I didn't want a doctor taking anything from me after I have passed, even knowing that two of my family members, an uncle and cousin, had severe kidney disease. It wasn't until after they had passed away that I really thought seriously about organ donation. I'm not proud of my prior