Organ Donation

Being an organ donor saves life, but only if you help. Ever since organ donation became a way of saving lives, there has been a shortage of organ donators. Each day the organ transplant list gets longer and the organs available for transplant become scarcer. Many people are dying because of not enough organs are available. Although society put a lot of efforts on educating people to sign a little organ donor card, people still misunderstand of the real meaning of this process. Actually, there are many mistrusts of organ donation such as the medical process, religion, cost etc. To some of the public population, organ donation is a way of saving life of another. However, some of them believe that it is unnecessary, morally incorrect and it may even threaten their lives. Why shouldnÐŽ¦t we donate our organs? Since those organs can save others, why should we take them to the graveyard? After we die, those organs can keep functioning in otherÐŽ¦s body, which means to continue our lives. In that sense, dispelling peopleÐŽ¦s mistrust of organ donation is highly essential for helping more people who are at the edge of their lives.

A serious organ donor shortage exists at the present time. Karen Ingwell claims in his journal, ÐŽ§Hospital receives grant to increase organ donationЎЁ, in 2002, due to the shortage of organ donators, more than 78,000 people were on the waiting list for transplants and more than 6000 patients died waiting for organs. Every 14 minutes another name is added to the national transplant waiting list. Most importantly, there is only less than 20% of the people who die yearly become an organ donor in America. So, despite modern advances in medicine, this shows that there are not enough organs. In fact, if one more person becomes an organ donor, itÐŽ¦s likely that many people will be recovered from illness, because one donor can provide 13 organs which include heart, lung, eye, kidney, liver etc. Many patients are really in need of an organ to save their lives. LetÐŽ¦s imagine if you are dying and you have two beautiful eyes, would you like to take them to the graveyard? Or would you rather donate them and to be great when a blind person will see the world with your eyes? ItÐŽ¦s a chance to be honored and thankful.

Although being an organ donor can be grateful, there are a lot of myths about organ donation to prevent people from becoming a donor. Many people think that if they are in accident and the hospital knows that they signed the organ donor card, the doctor will not save their lives in order to get their organs. ItÐŽ¦s absolutely wrong. According to American Medical Association, ÐŽ§Code of Medical Ethics 2001 editionЎЁ, it mentions ÐŽ§the physicianÐŽ¦s primary concern must be the health of the patientЎЁ (44). They wouldnÐŽ¦t take the organs unless all efforts to save the patient have been exhausted and death has been legally declared. Actually, the transplant team is separated from the medical team and the doctors will treat you as normal as anyone else. They donÐŽ¦t know whether you are a donor or not when they are handling you. Moreover, hospital has to notice the donorÐŽ¦s family before any organ transplantation. So, it has absolutely no risk of donating organ.

Another myth is the opposition of religion. Some people think that their religion forbids them from becoming an organ donor. This is not true. In fact, all mainstream organized religions approve of organ donation. They endorse it as the highest humanitarian act and it is even considered an act of charity. A non-profit organization Life Gift mentions that all larger religious denominations in the United States encourage organ donation. For example, Catholicism, Protestantism and most branches of Judaism. Also, religious leaders, including the Pope, have all publicly supported donation. Thus, it is not against the major religion. In addition, there is a common asked question that donation will disfigure