Giving an Organ to Save a Life (Part 1)

Did you know that one organ donation can save up to eight lives? While many know of organ donation, few actually have knowledge about the donation itself. Who is eligible to donate? What organs can be donated? Do you have to be dead to donate an organ? These are all questions that need to be answered before a responsible decision can be made regarding organ donation.

Who Can Donate?

Contrary to popular belief, you are never too old to donate your gently used organs. The condition of your organs is much more important than your age. For example, the liver of a young person with a history of alcohol abuse may be worse than an older person who has never consumed alcohol. Also, sometimes even if you have a medical condition, you can still donate your organs, however, there are some absolute exclusions, including: persons who are HIV positive, people with active cancer, and those with systemic infections.

What Can You Donate?

Organs that can be donated include heart, intestines, lungs, liver, kidneys, and pancreas. The organs must be used within hours of parting with the donors' body. Certain tissue can also be donated to restore sight, repair hearts, replace veins, cover burns, and mend damaged connective tissue and cartilage in patients. Tissue banks can store corneas, heart valves, bone, veins, cartilage, the middle ear, tendons, and ligaments.

Do I Have To Die First?

Some organs can be donated while you are living and allow you to continue to lead a healthy life. The most common living organ donation is a kidney, as a single kidney can function efficiently enough to remove the waste from the body. Portions of the liver can also be donated. The liver is a miraculous organ that regenerates until it is almost its original size, and does so in a short amount of time. Living donors can also donate a lung or part of a lung, part of the pancreas, or intestines. Tissues that can be donated by living donors include blood, bone marrow, blood stem cells, and umbilical cord blood.

If you choose to become a living donor, they will heavily scrutinize your medical history as they want to reduce post-operation problems. A healthy donor may have a more difficult time recovering from the surgical procedure if they have medical ailments.

Sobering Statistics

As of December 9, 2009, a staggering 105,165 people are waiting for transplants. Between January and September of 2009, 21,422 organ transplants were completed, coming from 10,916 donors.

The next part of the series will continue with a description of organs and reasons why the organ would need replacing. It will also provide transplant statistics.

Editors Note: I didn't pick this topic by myself. Thanks go to fellow blogger, Just an Engineer, who suggested this blog topic.

Resources:

http://organdonor.gov/