Bridge the Gap – Donate Life

Organ donation can change the lives of the donor and recipient forever. According to the organ donation website, Donate Life, there are over one hundred thousand hopeful recipients across the nation currently waiting on the transplant list, with more people added daily. Unfortunately, Department of Motor Vehicles records indicate there are only about seven thousand registered donors. Each post-mortem donor can save up to eight lives; the difference between the two numbers is heartbreaking. Well over half of the recipients will not receive help in time. A living donor can donate bone marrow, kidneys, and partial livers. Myths surrounding becoming an organ donor keep people from signing up to donate because they worry about being qualified, donations only go to the privileged, and they fear they won’t be able to have an open casket funeral.

The first myth is “I’m not qualified to be a donor because of age or illness or I have to be dead to donate.” Nothing could be further from the truth. There are two types of donors, living and deceased. Living donors go through a rigorous evaluation to determine if they are a match and adequately healthy to donate. Deceased donors must be declared to be brain dead in order for the surgical team to procure the organs. In each case, the medical team will evaluate medical records and personal history and will make the determination if the donor is a viable candidate. The oldest recorded donor was ninety-three years old.

Another fear potential donors have is only rich people get the organs. Fortunately, the list is a computerized system. Recipients are ranked by illness, immunity match, geography, and the length of time on the list. Using the computer system, the medical teams will match the best possible recipient to that organ. Race, religion, and wealth do not play a part in the selection process. The entire process is made to be as fair as possible.

Another myth often encountered is, “I won’t be able to have an open casket funeral if I donate.” The surgical team is exceptionally good at their job. The medical staff almost reveres the final moments of the deceased donor. The transplant team works very hard to preserve the looks of the donor out of respect for the donor and for the family. Utmost care must be taken in the removal of the organs so that they will be viable once they are transplanted.

As heartbreaking as the disparity between donors and recipients is, it is truly beautiful what happens when a match is made. Videos of recipient’s reactions float around the internet. My experience isn’t recorded on video, but it’s no less touching. In October, we were in the process of putting my son on the kidney transplant list. We’d just submitted the paperwork and the testing. A friend of mine shared a story on social media where a young child had drowned at a party. He had been life-flighted to a nearby Children’s Hospital. While he was there, it was determined that he had no brain activity. It was heartbreaking. The mom shared that they were in the process of donating her child’s organs. I expressed my thanks for her selfless act as we would be on the recipient side shortly. Her family immediately contacted me and offered to be the donor for my son. My heart soared even as it broke for this family. Unfortunately, this match didn’t work out for us, but it did for another child. Just the thoughtfulness of this family changed my life forever. Now I am not only an advocate for organ donation, I am a match for my son. I get to give him the gift of life – again.

Organ donation is not a mind thing. It is a heart thing; it is how a donor feels about donation. It is how the donor feels about being the one who can literally save another person’s life. It is not enough to merely click the box on the driver’s license form. The donor must tell family members. Put it in writing and make the wish known to give the gift of life. Step forward as so many others have done. Step forward and make the difference for someone. Push the myths surrounding organ donation aside. Be someone’s hero. Sign up to be an organ donor today.

Citations

“Frequently Asked Questions.” DonateLife

https://www.donatelife.net/faq/ March 1, 2019.

“Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation Statistics.” DonateLife

https://www.donatelife.net/statistics/ March 1, 2019.

“The Truth About Organ Donation.” ZdoggMD. August 2, 2018.

https://zdoggmd.com/organ-donation/ March 1, 2019.

Notes & Acknowledgements

This is a paper I wrote for a college essay. I got 195/200 so a 97.5%. Huge thanks to Betsy Love for being there and helping me through the editing and revising process. I don't think this paper would have been quite as strong without your help!