Importance of Organ Donation
...the benefit it has for someone who is dying. “We are not talking about people selling organs; we are talking about people who are dead and whose organs are available for salvage” (Riddick 1). There is a huge shortage of organs, but if people were really educated about this topic, they would see the many benefits of this important endeavor. When someone is pronounced dead, and not until then, the doctors will then present the choice for donation. Since one is dead and can’t give their consent, it is marked on their driver’s license whether they are a donor or not. “Unfortunatly, less than one-fifth of the american people actually sign a donor card” (Fentiman).If yes, their organs should be donated, but a problem that is arising more and more is that families of the deceased are overriding the choice of the dead, and saying no to donation. “ More than half of the eligible donors refuse to donate their recently decreased family member’s organs because they don’t know how the decreased felt about organ donation” (MacPherson). This brings about a lot of debate. If the person who has passed on has chosen to give a gift of life, something so incredibly important, their families should not have the right to overturn their decision about their own body. This is an issue that is causing the loss of many donations. “Return good, for evil, life for death” as said by Reg and Maggie Green, who donated their son Nicholas’ organs after he was shot and killed at the age of seven. This is a perfect example of how to turn the harshness of death into something good. As the Green’s said “ someone should have the future Nicholas lost”. Not only did one person have a future to look forward to, Nicholas’ organs went to seven different people. Many often feel when a loved one dies it is evil that they are being put through those feelings. Instead of making another person go through that evil, turn it in to good. Ease the pain of death by bringing new life to someone who has been suffering. It is one of the simplest and most effective ways to help erase the pain one feels and bring happiness back into their life. For those who do not believe in organ donation, it is mostly because they believe in the myths. They don’t know any better because they have never been educated on the topic. A view seen by those who disagree with donating organs is that when someone dies, they are to be let alone to rest and go to eternal life, their next life, or whatever their religious view bring them to. The mind and body though are separate. The mind which carries everything the person was will leave the body and go to its eternal destination. The actually body will be buried or incarnated still looking the same so that the traditional funeral events can still take place. When doctors and medical staff remove organs, they are very cautious about not affecting the look of the person. They replace the bones with rods to maintain the rigidity. They will use sponges and bandages to hold the shape of the removed muscles and tendons. All to help the donor looking just like they did before the surgery. Unlike many believe, one can still have an open casket funeral when one donates. Another is that there are already plenty of people who are donating organs so they do not feel that theirs is necessarily needed. Although there are donors, there are many more diseases and sicknesses. They also believe that they may receive “long-term problems from the donor” (Piccoli). Also because of the increase in technology many more people are surviving from these sicknesses, but still need transplants. So we are still in need of thousands of transplants at this time. Another myth is that if someone has a donor card, then doctors will not take every possible effort in to saving them, just so that they can have their organs (http://www.donatelife.net/facts.html). This is also a lie. Doctors do not even ask about or know if one is a donor until after death has been declared (http://www.donatelife.net/facts.html) . Along with that, people fear they doctors will just take them off life support so that they can have their organs. If someone is brain dead, then they are gone forever, life support will keep their organs okay so that they can be donated if chosen, but they will never take someone off, just to get their organs. People believe that celebrities and famous people get preferential treatment (http://www.donatelife.net/facts.html). This is also untrue, time though, is a very important factor, so matches are just made locally first to the most critically needed patient. Other factors are blood type and medical issues of that nature (http://www.donatelife.net/facts.html). It doesn’t matter who the person is, how rich or poor, famous or not. Along with that people believe that minorities are having to wait longer in the system. This is also just a my...