Organ Donation

On April 16, 1996, my grandfather passed away of cancer. He had been ill since November of 1995, and he needed a kidney transplant. Unfortunately, he never received one, resulting in the cause of his death. Each day about 70 people receive an organ transplant. However, 16 people die each day waiting for transplants that cannot take place because of the shortage of donated organs, according to organdonor.gov.

In New York alone, only 350 people are organ donors where 7,000 New Yorkers are currently awaiting organ transplants. One organ donor can save up to 8 lives by donating their heart, lungs, liver, kidney, pancreas, and intestines. Anyone can become an organ donor, and everyone should consider it.

According to hjd.org, organs and tissues are distributed through federally or state authorized regional organ and tissue banks. Your decision to become an organ donor will not interfere with the health care you receive. Saving a patient’s life is the health care provider’s first priority, and it does not cost your family anything. According to organdonation.com, family consent is required for organ donation.

Referring to an article titled, “The Gift of Organ Donation,” written by Dr. Dan Fischer about organ donation, organ donation is a lifesaving gift to a person who needs a healthy organ. It is an opportunity for you to give life to another human being after you have passed away. Organ donors are desperately needed in this country, and everyone should consider themselves a potential donor.

According to a statistic on organdonors.html, tens of thousands of people wait each year for transplants, and between 10-20% of them die for lack of suitable organs.

Death is a sad and final affair, especially through accidental or terminal illness.