By Kasia Michalik
Making a decision to become an organ donor can sometimes be a difficult task. Many people know from a young age that they want to help others and choosing to be put on the transplant organ donor list is a way to do that.
Traditions, morals and family values prevent some from making a decision, and the inner struggle begins to do what is right, by them, or what is right by family or faith.
Some other reasons that stand in people’s ways are: not understanding the process, not knowing how to register, some don’t think that they would be an acceptable donor, and some just haven’t gotten around to it.
As of today, there are over 123,000 people on the organ transplant list. Each day 18 people die waiting for an organ.1 Out of all those on the transplant list, 98,383 are in need of a kidney transplant. The kidney list continues to increase each year due to the rapid growth of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients.
Most people would consider donating an organ post their own death, but that doesn't have to be the case with medical improvements. Frequently people donate portions of their organs in order to save a stranger, friend or family members life. By donating one kidney, a section of the liver, a lung lobe or portion of the intestine or pancreas, the wait list decreases that much faster.
“Although like with any surgical procedure there is risk, most living donors return to their normal lives and allow the recipient to return to their normal lives also,” said Aisha Michel, communications and new media supervisor for Donate Life America. “A living donor should also be a registered organ, eye and tissue donors, because there are many more lives they can save, if they later die under circumstances that allow them to donate their organs, corneas or tissue.”
