The Process of Organ and Blood Donation

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“To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.” (Anonymous) Why should people donate? People should donate organs and blood because one organ can save up to eight lives. That same donor can save or improve up to fifty people’s lives. (Unknown) More than 119,000 people are waiting for transplants each year, and that is just in the U.S. alone. (Unknown) Eighteen people die every day because they are waiting for organs and/or blood transplants. (Unknown) Each year, thousands of people die because of the need for an organ transplant or blood donation. (Unknown) Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to be dead to be a donor! You can be a living donor! To be a living donor you must be over the age of twenty one, complete an education class called “Donor 101”, and have a Body Mass Index also referred to as “BMI” that is less than thirty. You must also have the transplant approved by a transplant surgeon, and a financial coordinator. (Anonymous) If you meet these qualifications, you should be good, but there are also some things that may disqualify you. For instance, if you have uncontrolled, high blood pressure, diabetes or pre-diabetes, are at a weight that qualifies as being obese, show signs of any cardiac conditions, have any type of cancer, have the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), are active with intravenous (IV) drugs, or are a male that has been in prison in the past six months.
When it comes to organ and blood donations, patients are put on a waiting list. A new person is added to the list every ten minutes. (Unknown) The factors of being the next one to have a transplant range from how severe the patient is, and how long they have been on the waiting list, down to their blood...

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...’s life! Make today be the day you choose to be someone’s hero!

Internet sources:

http://www.donatelifeny.org/about-donation/

http://www.thenationalnetworkoforgandonors.org/

https://www.memorialmedical.com/Services/Transplant-Services/Living-Donation/?gclid=CLGy0qKihboCFYxaMgod5W8AqQ

Interview sources:

Michelle L. Frieden

Vernel Oppe

Video sources:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/ohio-nurse-throws-kidney-siblings-sue-botched-transplant-20116561

Article sources:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2000-07-12/news/0007120151_1_uniform-anatomical-gift-act-liver-transplant-organ-or-tissue

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-02-11/news/ct-tl-naperville-zuleg-foundation-20130211_1_organ-donation-organ-donors-donor-registries

http://www.northjersey.com/community/147273455_Jefferson_resident_honored_with_2012__Ray_of_Hope__Award.html?c=y&page=1

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