It’s the right thing to do

There is an article in today’s SJ-R about how the number of organ donors has increased since the first-person consent donor registry went into effect in 2006. It recalls the story of how a 23-year-old died from injuries suffered in an auto accident this past October, just three weeks after he signed up for the first-person consent registry. What that means is that, while it was a tragedy that this young man was killed, some good actually came from his death by allowing doctors to save the lives of at least 3 other people due to his donating his organs and/or tissue.

I am not a doctor or other medical professional. The closest I can get is that Mrs. Johann is a pharmacist, Johann Sr. (my dad) is a retired pharmacist, and I was a pharmacy technician for about 15 years. I have no “education” in the medical field (or any other, for that matter) other than real-life hospital work experiences. I have not done any research into statistics on organ donation, short of reading this particular SJ-R article, nor do I intend to, or really need to. I am simply speaking from my own heart and mind on this.

Sign up to be an organ donor, folks. It’s the right thing to do.

The biggest (and, frankly, the dumbest) argument I’ve heard against organ donation is the belief that “if they know you’re a donor, they’ll just let you die and cut you up and ’steal’ all your organs”. That’s idiotic. First of all, I recognize that there are doctors and facilities out there that view patients as statistics and want to “boost their numbers”. I’d be stupid to be blind to that. But the grand majority of health professionals in this country (short of cosmetic surgeons, perhaps, but that’s just this “writer” ’s opinion…) actually believe and follow their Hippocratic oath. They’re not just going to let a patient die so they can start doling out organs. I think people watch way too much “E.R.” and “House” and what not, and believe what they see. (Don’t get me started on that phenomenon… ba deeeee, ba dee dee)

There is a sense of urgency in that once the donor’s body dies and doctors are able to harvest organs, there is an extremely small window of time before the tissue essentially dies itself and becomes unable to thrive in its new host. Again, I have no stats here, but I’m not completely talking out of my ass here, either. There are so many people waiting on transplant lists, and so few acceptable donors out there. We need organ and tissue donations, folks.

Look, people, the bottom line is that you need to look at how much potential there is in being a donor. Maybe your donated organ or tissue will save a child’s life. And yes, if you’re in that bad of shape, any anonymous child’s life is more important than yours. Maybe your donated organ or tissue will be the one researchers used to discover or perfect the cure for cancer, or AIDS, or the common cold. (You actually can donate your body to science; my brother-in-law’s mother and stepfather are doing so when they pass away.) Not trying to spark a religious debate here, but regardless of one’s stance on “the afterlife”, one would have to feel pretty good, wherever they “are” in the cosmos at that point, knowing that they did such a good thing for their fellow man. I know I would. Or are you one of those assholes that expects strangers to donate to save you or your loved ones but you won’t donate to save them? Selfish little fucker, aren’t you?

Mrs. Johann already knows that if I’m ever in an accident and I die, or am only being kept “alive” by machines, that I expect and demand to have my “plug pulled” and for doctors to take whatever they can use. Being kept alive on a ventilator is not living. There is such a thing as “quality of life”. I mean, yeah, the person on that ventilator is “alive”, but who is truly benefitting from that? The patient? Their family? (I could make a whole new post on the selfishness of grief from death, but I won’t… yet…) I’ll just repeat the phrase: “quality of life”. If I no longer have it, but can possibly give it to someone else, let’s do it. Even if my donated parts don’t wind up saving anyone, I tried.

Please, people. Regardless of what you think of me or my rambling on this blog (or in comments on your or other people’s blogs), do the right thing. Sign up here and become an organ donor. Thank you.