7 Reasons You Have No Excuse Not To Be An Organ Donor
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Health and Wellness

7 Reasons You Have No Excuse Not To Be An Organ Donor

What do you need with your organs when you're rotting away in the dirt?

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7 Reasons You Have No Excuse Not To Be An Organ Donor
orderofthegooddeath

Deciding whether or not you should become an organ donor is one heck of a decision, and when are you first asked it? Well, the very moment you get your learner’s permit for driving. For many out there, that is around the age of 15. That is quite a young age to think about what will happen to your body when you die, but nevertheless, it is an extremely important choice to make.

Organ donation is done usually when a person dies (but some may donate when they are alive). Prior to this, they sign up at the DMV or on a national registry to donate their organs to those on the transplant list. When the person dies, their organs are preserved and given to someone on the list that matches their body and blood types. In America alone, there are over 119,000 people on the transplant waiting list and every 10 minutes another unfortunate person is added to that long list (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services).

Now, that wouldn’t seem like that big of a deal normally, right? Wrong. Around 22 people die every day while patiently waiting for a transplant. (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services) It gets better though… and when I say better, I mean much worse. A good portion of the time a person actually does receive a matching organ, their body rejects it after the initial procedure. This is one reason why the list seems to always grow in addition to the rise in cancer and the increase in the elderly population. And although it seems like the people on the list are just old people waiting to die anyway, that simply isn’t the case.

Almost 2,000 people on the waiting list are children (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services). I’m not talking college age children. I’m talking children under 18 that could be as young as preschool age. Imagine having a child that basically just crawled into this world facing death. How incredibly unfair it is for a pure and innocent child to have to go through such a painful and scary event.

Of course people don’t want to think about their death. It is petrifying to think about such a depressing situation. But think how much more depressing it is to know some little girl or little boy out there may never experience their first crush, high school graduation, marriage, having their first baby, etc. And in addition to that, think how depressing it is to know that you allowed the death of an old man’s wife because you were too afraid to say yes to the secretary at the DMV when they asked if you would like to become an organ donor.

Have I triggered your pathos yet? Hopefully, because I’m about to present to you a fair argument on why you should register to become an organ donor:

  1. You’re saving lives! Did you know that up to EIGHT lives can be saved from ONE organ donor? (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services) Honestly, what do you need with your organs when you’re lying in the dirt, rotting away anyway? You might as well give them up to someone who can use them!
  2. Most religions ARE accepting of organ donation. According to a passage from the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes for Health, “No religion formally forbid[s] donation or receipt of organs or is against transplantation from living or deceased donors.” (NCBI) It goes on to state that some religions may discourage it, but it is still technically ALLOWED. In addition to that, there are many more popular religions that completely accept organ donation, including the major religions, Roman Catholicism, Islam, most branches of Judaism, and most Protestants (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research).
  3. It helps families find peace. Not only are the families of organ recipients beyond happy that someone is willing to help out their loved ones, but the families of the passed away organ donors often report feeling a sense of relief and peace wash over them knowing their family member is able to live on in another person’s body.
  4. The organ donor’s family will not be charged a penny for their help. Some worry that the expenses it takes to donate organs are required to be paid for by the family of the donor, but this is incorrect. Hospitals will do their best to save the life of the donor which would ultimately lead to charges on the family, but the cost of the actual preservation and donation of the organs will not cost a single penny for the family.
  5. Open-casket funerals are still possible after organ donation. Many people agree to open-casket funerals. Though that seems impossible after organ donation, it is not. For many deaths, a postmortem operation is done to get a detailed analysis on how the person died. During this operation, all the organs of the person are removed to be looked at and examined closely. They are put back in and the person is then sewn up. (Guardian News and Media) This is done if the person is an organ donor or not and many people that go through this procedure are still put in an open-casket. Some may wonder, “But what about if skin is donated?”. When skin is donated, they take the skin from the back of the donor, not the front. Because the person is laid on their back in the casket, this is not an issue. “But what if they donate their eyes?” I know that sounds like a valid question, but think about it. Who leaves their eyes open when they die? Eyelids are closed in any type of funeral. (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
  6. Lives could improve immensely. Up to 50 lives can be improved because of one organ donor! (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)Think of how many people out there are much happier because of the donation of even one organ or tissue. Corneas can be donated and can restore vision. Knowing that, think of all the people who may able to see again because of a generous donation. In addition to that, think of the number of people on dialysis, waiting for a new set of kidneys that would no longer need to be legitimately drained every few hours because of a generous donation. Imagine all the premature babies in need of a functioning heart that are able to live to adulthood, all because of a few generous donations. Why not help people in need? Why not give to those who are in need of something that you can no longer make use of? In doing this, depression will be reduced and happiness will be spread.
  7. One last good deed to the world. Who doesn’t want to live a good life, set a good example, and be remembered after they die? What goes around, comes around in this world. In order to get, you must give. Sit back and remember all the good things that have happened in your life. Now think of all the sad or unpleasant things that have happened. You have the ability to turn that sadness in someone else’s life to a happiness that could potentially last a lifetime. Why not try? Why not sign up? Why not do one last good deed in the world before you pass to the next?

Have I convinced you to become an organ donor? If yes, here’s a few ways you can sign up:

  1. When you first get your learner’s permit to drive, tell the person you are working with that you would like to become an organ donor.
  2. If you miss your chance to sign up when you get your learner’s permit, indicate you would like to become a donor when you go to get your driver’s license for the first time or when you go to renew your license (DMV).
  3. You can also register to become a donor online at registerme.org or through the health application on any updated IOS device. This is a simple application that takes less than five minutes and will always be available to healthcare no matter where you go (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research).
  4. The final way you can become an organ donor, though less official, is by letting your family know this is your wish for when you pass away.

I hope this article convinced you into becoming an organ donor. For more information, check out the sources listed below. Thank you!

Sources:

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/organ-donation/art-20047529

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/organ-donation/art-20047529?pg=2

https://www.organdonor.gov/statistics-stories/statistics.html

https://www.dmv.org/how-organ-donation-works.php

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18555116

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/feb/16/healthandwellbeing.weekend2

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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