The Importance of Organ Donation

Organ donation is a very important topic to me the I personally hold near and dear to my heart. If it wasn't for organ donation I would not be alive today.

Becoming an organ donor can be the most rewarding thing that you can do. Most people do not know that you do NOT have to be deceased to be a donor. You can become a living donor and not only save a loved one, but you can also save someone else's loved one. What can be more rewarding then that? As a living donor you can donate any thing from your  kidney to a part of your liver (Thats what my mom did for me in order for me to still be here). She and I were the first living donation done at Emory University. While as a deceased donor you can save and enhance over 100 lives, through not only donating organs but also skin and bone marrow.

It is very easy to become a organ donor, all you need to do is go to your local DMV or sign up online at www.organdonor.gov . It only takes up to 5 minutes of your time and you don't even have to leave your house.

Here are some facts and myths that I found interesting about organ donation; 

1. There are over 119, 000 Kids & Adults at any given time on the transplant list
2. On average someone new is added to the transplant list every 10 minutes.
3. Signing your drivers license does NOT make you a organ donor. In many states, your family must give consent no matter.
4. The success rate for organ transplantation is 80%-90%.
5. On average 18 people die every day while waiting on a transplant, that is a average of over 6,500 per year.
6. The kidney is the most needed organ for transplantation.
7. A living donor can give a kidney, part of the liver, lung, intestine, blood, or bone marrow.

Myths

1. If doctors know I am a registered organ donor they wont work as hard to save my life.
2. If you are rich or a celebrity, you can move up the list faster.
3. After donating a organ or tissue, a closed casket funeral is the only option.
4. My religion doesn't support organ and tissue donation. Fact is most major religions encourage it.
5. My family will be charged for donating my organs.

Facts taken from: http://www.donatelifevt.org/organ-donation-facts

Myths taken from: http://www.americantransplantfoundation.org/about-transplant/facts-and-myths/

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