Saving a life, the thought of living on through other people, and the feeling of helping others outside oneself. The reason for transplantation is because the original organ has failed or the tissue is dying. Although the process is long and there is a great deal of paperwork, one person has the ability to save eight lives with just their organs and 100 lives with their tissue.
What is organ donation? Organ donation is the surgical process of removing an organ or tissue from one person and placing it within another person. There are over 114,000 men and women waiting on the transplant list, 20 of them die each day. However, around 35,000 transplant surgeries were performed in 2017, and roughly 3 of 1,000 people die in a way that allows donation. One person can save up to eight lives by donation their heart, lungs, liver, pancreas, kidneys, and their intestines. Kidneys are needed the most; 83% of the waiting list are people waiting for one. The liver takes about 12% of the waiting list, and the heart is roughly 4%. There is also a wide range of races on the waiting list. For instance, Caucasians make up around 42%, African Americans at 29%, Hispanics around 20%, and Asians are 8%(HRSA).
There is a difference between myth and fact, one is true. An example is some people say because they have a medical condition they can’t be a donor. That is wrong, anyone can sign up to be a donor no matter what their medical history says. Although there are few cases people cannot be a donor such as HIV, live cancer cells, or systemic infection. “My family won’t be able to have an open casket for me if I’m an organ donor.” The truth is, every donor’s body is treated with care and dignity; they aren’t animals tearing the body apart. “Donating costs money.” No, it doesn’t because it is a donation and people are saving another life at no cost. “Someone could take my organs and sell them.” Actually, the federal law stops the buying and selling of organs in the U.S, and anyone caught doing so will be put in prison and have fines to pay. Knowing the facts about organ donation could changes millions of minds and the world could save more lives.
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The history of organ donation is very intriguing. The first donation was a skin graft in 1869. This was a huge step for the medical field and it only grew into better and greater things. For example, the first organ donation was in 1954, a living donor gave his kidney to his identical twin. The twins were 23-years old; Ronald Herrick donated to Richard. They both lived normal and healthy lives. Richard passed away eight years later for causes not related to the transplant. Richard had passed away from a heart attack and his brother lived to be 87-years old. Their story is a brave example of how to take risks without knowing anything about the surgery considering it was the first one. They were both willing to give their lives in order to save one. Everyone today should live the way they did, take risks, but now we have reliable facts.
Saving a life could be the best act of kindness, and not to mention how anyone can do it. Young or old, American or African American, tall or short, etc. Just the knowledge of how one person can save up to eight lives with the organs alone is incredible. What about 100 lives with their tissue? If every person in the world became an organ donor, thousands of lives would be saved when one passes. The human body is capable of more than we can understand at times, but we understand how organs are important to everyone. Healthy people who can survive on one kidney could give someone a better life by giving them the other kidney. It is a big deal, but imagine the great things that person can do afterward. Those who donate could imagine living on through those they donated to.
Perhaps thinking of living on through other people eases one’s mind. The heart will continue to beat, just for different reasons. One’s lungs will take in air for someone who couldn’t do it before. Don’t forget about kidneys, someone who couldn’t function properly because their fluids were balanced correctly can now live a normal life thanks to a person’s donation. There are so many organs and they each have a specific job to do, without one or more of them, it is hard to live life and be happy doing without proper functions. The feeling the donor will have after saving a life would be phenomenal; thrilling in a way.
