Organ Donation

Organ donation is giving an organ to help someone who needs a transplant. Organ donation is done when a person allows an organ of theirs to be removed. Organ Donation is often lifesaving and gives the recipient a wonderful new phase of life.

You don’t have to be a doctor to save lives you can save lives too by donating organs. As a fact, each person can save the lives of up to 7 individuals and can enhance the lives of over 50 people by way of tissue donation. Organ Donation is not a tragedy but it can be a beautiful light in the midst of one.

Organ Donation is done when a person allows an organ of theirs to be removed after he or she dies for the purpose of transplanting them into the needed ones and can also be used for Research. The person who gives the organ is called as a Donor and the one who receives the organ is termed as a Receiver. There are many people in the World who are donating their Body parts for the use and lives of the needy people.

The first living organ donor in a successful transplant was Ronald Lee Herrick, who donated a kidney to his identical twin brother in 1954. The lead surgeon, Joseph Murray, won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1990 for advances in organ transplantation.

All of us can donate organs irrespective of the age, caste and religion. Organ donors are usually dead at the time of donation but it can be living too. People of all ages and background can be organ donors. If you are under age 18, your parent or guardian must give you permission to become a donor. If you are 18 or older you can show you want to be a donor by signing a donor card. You should also let your family know your wishes. Still persons suffering from Cancer, HIV and some Infectious diseases are some of the contra-indications.

Important organs like heart, liver, kidneys and pancreas can be donated. If the person has died in case of Brain Death whereas organs like skin, bones etc can be donated only in case of natural health. The organ transplantation can play a vital role in receiver’s life by increasing their period of life more than the expected. Organ donation allows many recipients to return to a normal life.

Organ donation is typically defined as a subject adhering to an agreement of principals and regulations however, the definition becomes difficult to execute concerning the topic of organ donation, mainly because the subject is incapable of consent due to death or mental impairment. There are two types of consent being reviewed explicit consent and presumed consent. Explicit consent consists of the donor giving direct consent through proper registration depending on the country. The second consent process is presumed consent, which does not need direct consent from the donor or the next of kin. Presumed consent assumes that organ donation would have been permitted by the potential donor if permission was pursued. Of possible donors an estimated twenty-five percent of families refuse to donate a loved one's organs. Consent is defined as adhering to an agreement of principals. However, this definition is hard to enforce in accordance with organ donation because, in most cases, organs are donated from the deceased, and can no longer provide consent for themselves.

Organ donation is a necessity. When organ donation is the only difference between life and death, there cannot really be any two sides of the argument debating the advantages and disadvantages of organ donation. However, there are some pros and cons of organ transplants that must be discussed in a pragmatic way.

List of Pros of Organ Donation

1. Life Saver, Facilitator of Better Life - Organ donation is a life saver, in other words a life giver. Today, a person with an unhealthy liver, failing kidneys or heart can hope to live with an organ transplant. A blind person can see. An ailing person may become healthy. Organ Donation doesn’t just benefit the recipient but also changes the lives of their loved ones.

2. Furthering Science - Organ Donation is a medical marvel. The present methods are also a phase in further evolution of medical science. What was known about and understood of organ donation a decade or two ago has evolved and today processes are safer, doctors know much more about most organs and this is a continuous process of getting better. Organ Donation thus plays a significant role in furthering our understanding of our own body and hence it advances medical science as we know it.

3. Unmatched Act of Kindness - Organ Donation allow people with perfectly good organs to donate them so someone can live or have a better life. Many people pledge to donate their organs when they die. This is not only an act of kindness but it is almost godly. There can be no greater joy or even accomplishment than to save someone’s life or to improve someone’s life, even if that person is a complete stranger.

List of Cons of Organ Donation

1. Possible Risks - Organ Donation requires surgery. These surgeries are always invasive. There are substantial risks of organ transplants. A particular body can reject an organ, when a surgery goes wrong and there can be side effects after the procedure is done and a new organ doesn’t always assure a better life. There are case studies where people have died even after a successful organ transplant.

2. The Uncertain Wait - The waiting for an organ can be painful. A recipient may wait forever. The organ may not be available in time. The wait is also painful for the family of a deceased donor. A deceased person will be put on life support and shall be kept under observation and in waiting till the organ or organs are meticulously removed.

Organ Donation Day in India

A recent study shows that 5 lakhs people and above are dying every year in India only because of organ failure and lack of available organs. The Organ Donation Day is observed by the people, government organizations, NGOs and other organizations interested in bringing awareness about organ donation and its value and thus motivate people to pledge their organs. One donor can save as many as eight lives.

It is time to forget about myths and tales. It is time to believe in science, and help people in distress. It is time to realize that we can be of use even in death. It is time to pledge our organs.