Myths & Facts about Organ and Tissue Donation

[HuckleB]

Myths & Facts about Organ and Tissue Donation

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=21976

"Don't let myths and rumors keep you from saving lives. Learn the facts.

Myth: Doctors will not try to save my life if they know I want to be a donor.

Fact: The medical staff trying to save lives is completely separate from the transplant team. Donation takes place and transplant surgeons are called in only after all efforts to save a life have been exhausted and death is imminent or has been declared.

Myth: People can recover from brain death.

Fact: People can recover from comas, but not brain death. Coma and brain death are not the same. Brain death is final.

Myth: Minorities should refuse to donate because organ distribution discriminates by race.

Fact: Organs are matched by factors, including blood and tissue typing, which can vary by race. Patients are more likely to find matches among donors of their same race or ethnicity.

Myth: The rich and famous on the U.S. waiting list for organs get preferential treatment.

Fact: The computerized matching system does not select recipients based on fame or wealth. Organs are matched by blood and tissue typing, organ size, medical urgency, waiting time, and geographic location.

..."



This seemed like a good time to spread this around, as it appears that freepers are using Schiavo to attempt to put an end to organ donation.

[lonestarnot]

1. Skin needed for burn victims... don't let them dissuade donation.

[gizmo1979]

2. I will never be an organ donor.

One reason only.Rich people,if your data is available and a rich person needs an organ I don't trust them enough to not harvest a bit early if you get my drift.

[lonestarnot]

3. had this same thought... but don't want to live if I'm in a condition that

would warrant investigation of harvesting organs.

[gizmo1979]

5. I'm saying I don't think they would wait until you're in that condition

you could be healthy as a horse and they need an organ and you are a match you think your life will matter to someone who no one ever says no to?I don't think so.

[lonestarnot]

8. I know what you are saying... scary, but word would be out...n/t

[HuckleB]

6. Please do some research.

If that's your only reason, I think you'll find that it doesn't hold up as a valid concern.

[Horse with no Name]

7. That is a fallacy

There is strict criteria needed from serial EEG's, and at least two different doctors before you are pronounced dead.
This does NOT happen. There is STRICT criteria of how you are placed on the list and it would stand up in any court of law as being fair and impartial.
I think these rumors were started by those who were too chickenshit to donate so they wouldn't look like cowards.

[gizmo1979]

9. money talks my friend

Call me a coward if you want,but I see the greedy things these people do everyday they don't care about anyone if they found you to be a match you'd be a walking dead man.If a friend needed a kidney or something I'd do that otherwise all bets are off

[Horse with no Name]

10. Money doesn't talk in organ donation

Someone can "off" you all they want, but there isn't any certainty that their person would get the organ so it is fruitless.
I saw that Law and Order too,lol, and while it had entertainment value, it certainly did not have a reality basis in fact.

Added on edit: If those are your fears to keep you from donating, then consider this. Don't sign your drivers license or organ card. But DO tell your next of kin that you wish to donate--that way nobody will be the wiser. Also of note--they don't blood type you when you sign the card. Wasn't sure if you knew.

[NashVegas]

21. If Money Doesn't Talk

Why is there a black market for organs?

It's no longer a "gift," it's become a demand. Where there's a demand, money talks.

[Horse with no Name]

22. I've never heard of a black market for organs

in the United States.
It may exist in other countries where these things aren't as regulated as the procurement agencies are here, but I can't vouch for that because I am not aware.

[HuckleB]

12. Fear.

Fear is an emotion that can be very necessary. But without evidence and reason to back up a long-held fear, it becomes detrimental.

http://groups.msn.com/transplantsupportlungheartlungheart/organdonation2.msnw

[gizmo1979]

16. Well everyone is allowed one

irrational fear,that's mine.

[HuckleB]

18. Interesting that you choose to spread it around, as well.

And make unsubstantiated claims about organ donation in the process. Sorry, but having an irrational fear doesn't justify that.

[gizmo1979]

20. You think it doesn't happen then you are being naive.

Your telling me a poor person and a rich person on the list the rich isn't going to get the organ.there is nothing fair about it.You can jump up and down all day hold your breath if you want you won't convince me this isn't a rich mans game.

[Horse with no Name]

24. It doesn't happen that way

It isn't "rich or poor".
People are listed to a strict criteria and the criteria is followed without fail--each and every time.
Obviously nobody is going to convince you otherwise.
I sincerely hope if you or one of your family members needs an organ someday, that someone else is kind enough to donate one despite the fact that you would deny their family member one in the same situation.

[HuckleB]

26. Thanks for the myth.

But your myth is a myth. It's time to join the real world. You are hurting people with your stance. Do you understand that?

[Gemini Cat]

33. Yes, I can tell you.

My SO had a transplant. Guess what? My SO was POOR. Poor in a red state on Medicaid, but my SO got a transplant anyway. Remarkable.

I'm glad the donor signed the card. Aren't you? If the donor had not signed the card because of fear, my SO would have been dead.

[Liberty Belle]

30. That's completely untrue. Trust me.

I've written articles on organ donation and researched the subject thoroughly. Incidentally, my interest came about because of a destitute friend who was seriously in need of a transplant--
and he got it, just in the nick of time.

Money does not move you to the top of the list, nor does poverty keep you off of it, generally speaking.

[Horse with no Name]

4. Nice post--very timely

Summer is the busiest trauma time of the year due to an increase in family travelling, outdoor sports, etc.
Working at a Children's hospital, I always assumed that the list was a metaphorical type being, but there is a magical list.
We did pediatric liver transplants and we would get a call from the organ bank that we had a recipient on their way in to make ready for the transplant.
If for some reason when they got here and the patient had an infection or was somehow other nullified for the transplant, they pull the list out and notify the next person. It is quite an amazing procedure and there truly isn't any bias.
The actual procurement is veryyyy respectful. The person is taken to the operating room AND GIVEN ANESTHESIA during the procedure.
Even though they are dead, nobody wants to chance that some nerve endings still aren't firing that can cause pain and discomfort even after death.
It is basically a surgical procedure. The body is not maimed or harmed in any way. Say for instance the eyes are harvested--then they put what amounts to "fake eyes" back in so that in the event of an open casket, nobody will look any different than if they didn't donate their organs. Everything is stitched up.
The entire thing looks just like a typical surgery that occurs any day.
When the person is released to the funeral home, everything is stitched and intact and during the funeral, there isn't any evidence that they were donors.
It's the old saying...you can't take it with you.
Also--the most important detail of all. PLEASE discuss your wishes of organ donation with your family. Even if you sign your drivers license or an organ donor card--if your legal next of kin says that they cannot take the organs, they can't take them, even with your written permission.

Give the gift of life.
And while you are at it--since it is a busy trauma season--Please go give blood as often as you can during this time of year. The life you save may be one of your friends or family.:)

[Nikia]

11. My funeral director uncle says differently

I don't want to discourage DUers to donate organs and I am glad that your patients have been treated with respect. My uncle is a funeral director though and has said that many of the organ donors are hacked apart and that it makes it difficult to have an open casket showing. He called them butchers.
Is there a way of making sure that the local transplant team does treat the newly deceased as a surgical patient rather than just a vessle of the desired organs? Can a family take legal action if their loved one was severely maimed during organ harvesting?
I know that after I am dead that I don't need my body and that there are many ways of death which could put the body in far worse condition. It's a concern though.

[HuckleB]

13. My funeral director best friend disagrees with your uncle.

Sorry, but I don't buy this story. I've spent too much time working and volunteering with and around donor families, working through grief with them, and I've spent too much time hanging with my friend, who happens to be on the board of the state organ donor organization where we live, spending countless hours working for what he sees as a very worthy cause. I think that says everything anyone needs to know about the "concern" you have slapped down on this thread.

[Horse with no Name]

14. Sorry thats total bullshit

and he knows it.
I can't imagine why someone would say such a thing.
The organ donors leave the hospital on stretchers.
Which hospital is going to take the risk that guts are falling out on the way out the door.
Blatant lies.

[Warren DeMontague]

31. Even IF that was true... which I don't think it is...

What is more important? A pristine dead body or the lives of the people who are still breathing and could benefit from timely removal of the organs?

I suspect that, within reason, transplant teams try to respect the integrity of the deceased's body... but their primary goal is and rightly should be the preservation of live tissue for transplantation.

I had a friend who suffered a tragic accident at age 26, and his family was brave enough to make that decision while still reeling from the shock. Many people are alive today because of his gift. I am CERTAIN my friend's attitude towards his organs and body would have been-- "shit, I can't use them anymore- knock yourselves out"

[bush_is_wacko]

15. The MOST important myth of all IMO...

Myth: Minorities should refuse to donate because organ distribution discriminates by race.

THERE IS A SERIOUS SHORTAGE OF ORGANS THAT MATCH UP TO MINORITIES BECAUSE OF THIS MYTH!

While it is possible to match with a non minority, the match up is made much harder for some. It is very sad IMO to see minorities dying because of this belief among their own people! I had the opportunity to see the good that can come of organ donation several years ago. I was so impressed with the family's ability to realize in the midst of their grief that their loved one could save MANY lives. The family donated every organ available. The process was described to them in detail and they chose to donate everything. I'm sure, knowing the person who gave so freely of his love and affection, he was very pleased with the decision! What a profound gift organ donation can be, to both the family giving and the family receiving!

[Ilsa]

17. That includes bone marrow as well.

In my state, Texas makes the registry free to certain minorites because there are not enough matches for bone marrow for minorities. I believe it costs about $75+ to register yourself as a bone marrow donor, and they didn't want the cost of registration to deter anyone who wouldn't mind donating if called upon.

[booley]

19. What problems do freepers have with donation?

"as it appears that freepers are using Schiavo to attempt to put an end to organ donation."

I don't get it..are these freepers just being evil fro it's own sake? Is there some kind of rational? Doeds organ transplants violate some part of the Bible that they are still following?

Why?

[Horse with no Name]

25. Do I have to tell you?

It's that damn culture of life dontcha know?lol

[HuckleB]

27. LOL!

It's bizarre, ain't it? Let the machines keep your brain dead body alive so that others may die! A "culture of life," indeed.

:eyes:

Salud!

[bleedingheart]

23. I am a recipient of donor tissue...

which is why I am all for these programs.

I received donor tissue when I had dental surgery to repair my gums...it helped me to save my teeth...

[spindoctor]

28. The culture of life is against organ donation?

Are there no limits to their hypocricy?

:wtf:

[Warren DeMontague]

29. Oh yeah. It's another wonderful logical conclusion of their black & white

thinking about "life".

But, like the fact that both the birth control pill and IVF will be criminalized when they get their Human Life Amendment into the Constitution, it's not something they really like to advertise.

[Warren DeMontague]

32. Judging by some of the responses, it needs to be re-iterated:

ONCE YOU ARE DEAD, YOU DON'T NEED YOUR BODY ANYMORE.

Really, it doesn't matter what happens to it. So if you can help someone else out, why not?

Or, as Phil Lesh -recipient of a liver- is wont to say, "if you needed an organ donation to survive, you would take one, right? Well.. fair is fair"

[REP]

34. Unfortunately, Not All Myths

My kidneys are failing from FSGS, an untreatable kidney disease, and I B-, the worst blood group for donated organs (AB- is the rarest group, but is also universal recipient). I am familiar with the issues at hand.

Recent studies have found that the poor and minorities are more like to be organ DONORS than organ RECIPIENTS. There may be no organized preferential treatment, but given the nature of diseases that lead to organ transplantation, the poor and minorities are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to medical care in managing these conditions pre- and post transplant.

While the rich and famous may not get preferential treatment, those without children are given lower priority than those who have had children, despite the severity of their disease. This is odd, especially considering some diseases, such as the one I have, makes pregnancy a near death sentence.

[HuckleB]

36. Link?

Please link to said studies, as they contradict the studies that I've seen.

[REP]

38. Not On Line

You can search PubMed for abstracts, but the articles are not online.

[Warren DeMontague]

37. Rich people get better medical attention in general...

You will get absolutely no argument from me, there.

However, if the notion that a wealthy person might get one's organs is in itself enough to prevent one from donating them, I think that's a bit peevish.

On the other hand, some people were floating stuff here about how they suspected that their bodies might be taken apart "prematurely" to get an organ to a rich person. That's a total crock, and a very different proposition than the notion that rich people might receive better care.

[SarahB]

35. I think NOT being an organ donor is a bit selfish.

If you (or your loved one) is no longer here in this realm, what is a better gift they could leave with humanity than to save another life? I know this is a very personal decision, but when a person is dead, they are dead. There's no coming back (not in the same body anyway). I guess it's just hard for me to understand the case against it.