Organ Donors: Did you know?

Organ Donors: Did you know?

Organ Donors do you know, what being an Organ Donor consist of? Most people in today’s society do not; there is so much information that should be documented in a way where everyone can be informed about it. For an example: When you are at the DMV to get a driver’s license, and the instructor asks if you would like to be an Organ Donor. Along with asking that question he or she could provide you with a booklet/brochure informing the reader about it, before they make their final decision.

According to The Cleveland Clinical Center for Organ Donation and Transplantation states that, “an organ donation by definition is the process of surgically removing anorgan or tissue from one person (the organ donor) and placing it into anotherperson (the recipient)” . Transplantation is necessary because the recipient's organ, such as a kidney, a liver, a heart, or even a lung, has either failed or has been damaged by disease or injury. Since 2003, living donations were rising dramatically; the ethical issue has proven to weigh heavily on the population. On an average, 75 people receive an organ a day, and 20 people who cannot receive an organ die each day. This issue behind live donors and the treatment and compensation after the donation process leaves numbers which may seem small compared to the overall population, however when this number is specifically coming from the need of donations needed and this is happening on an everyday bases which proves to become a rising issue. According to the US Department of Health & Human Services “people of everyage give and receive organ donations in 2012, 28,051 people received organtransplants” . The number of recipients by age group from ages 1 through age 65+ the older the recipients the greater the number. These numbers are notable because if any of the living donors listed had any complications, it is likely that they were not compensated by the state. Organs have been successfully transplanted since the 1950s, although it wasn't until 2006 that the United Network for Organ Sharing began asking transplant centers to report on the health status of its donors. According to reports by the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, however, transplant centers have lost track of more than one-third of their donors one year after their donations. Furthermore, few centers report any laboratory results on their donors, andsome centers consistently fail to report any data at all.

 

The need for organ donors is widespread throughout the world, and everyone has the potential to be affected by this. Many people will experience someone close to them, if not they themselves, needing an organ donation of some sort. The effects of this could possible come from the medical expenses. Hospitals charge close to 10,000 dollars for just surgery, that’s just for the procedure for them to move organs from person to person. There are a lot more other bills then just the surgery bill, such as the hospital bill not including the procedure bill and the doctor’s bill. At the end of the day doctors are mainly the problem with people getting over charged, all doctors want their money and really do not care how they get it from their patients. Therefore they are going to target the patients who already have the money to pay them right away, rather than the ones who don’t have the money and is on the waiting list. Those people who are on the waiting list are usually the ones who die. The implications of this issue are great due to the fact that this is not only a disheartening issue but one that cannot be resolved quickly. This affair first came about shortly after the first time an organ donation has been attempted. Compensation became an issue once some complications began to get reported. People do not donate organs for various reasons, such as the lack of money, the fear of how they are going to life, or if they are going to die. People who do donate organs reasons may be because they are related to the patient, or for “good” moral standing. For whatever reason chosen, an assortment of complications has caused this to become an ethical issue of compensation and liability. 

There are three major models that were put in place concerning organ donation: “1)clarify unanswered legal questions about donation, including exactly who coulddonate, 2) create an easy-to-use legal donation mechanism – the organ donorcard, and 3) encourage the law’s widespread adoption”.  By 1971, all three goals were achieved and the Uniform Act was enacted in all 50 states, with little or no modification. Although these models are the basis of principle when conducting these donations, there are some significant effects for the donor. Some effects that the organ donor may have after donating would be the natural physical effect of the necessary healing process. There is a possibility of some psychological effects to take place, as the donor may end up under a substantial amount of traumatic stress that is less than ideal for the healing process. Other effects for the donor would be the academic process which generally ensues to the lack of knowledge of information pertaining what an organ donor is. This in part is due to the “hindsight” effect where the donor wouldn’t actually know what the experience is about until they have been through the experience or witnessed someone who has been through it.  According to Deborah L. Shelton an reporter for the Chicago Tribune, a recipient by the name of Laura suffered from many complications following her donation with no compensation or assistance from the state following her life-threatening experience. Laura was interviewed by Deborah due to a report made, that Laura was assured that she would not be billed for her kind liberality prior to the surgery, although afterward she suffered from many complications and was forced to be hospitalized to address the issue, and then she was billed for the duration of her stay. It was said that Laura was not compensated by the state for the many bills that she received, nor did the state tend to the many physical and psychological effects that Laura suffered from this traumatic experience. Some donors have had complications that have caused them to have setbacks which have disrupted their initial plan and purpose for donating. Some causes or reasons for these effects could be the fact that there is no reward behind choosing to go through with the procedure as well as the functioning thereafter. This is an issue with a considerable amount of gravity considering how many people are affected.

In conclusion, the rising issue of compensation for organ donors will continue to be pressed and the argument for compensation is one to be heard until a common resolution is to be found. This issue is becoming a big problem all around the world not only in the United States of America, but also in other countries such as China, Europe, and etc. As I said earlier in this essay, there should be more information about being an organ donor out in the world today. Handing out brochures at the DMV offices could really help people make a life changing decision. In fact there should be a class in all of our high schools about organ donations, teens as well as adults have no clue at all about what an organ donor is, has to offer, or the consequences behind it. Colleges should offer courses about organ donations, the sessions don’t have to be long at all. The students can meet at least 2-3 times a week for at least 30 minutes at the most.