April 25, 2005 Hello! "April [is] National
Donate Life Month, a time to raise public awareness of the critical
need for organ, tissue, marrow, and blood donation. ... Over the
years, many participating organizations and individuals found
it restrictive to limit special donation awareness efforts to
one week in April-especially as the week often conflicted with
other observances such as National Volunteer Week, or at times,
with Passover or Holy Week. The change to a month-long observance
of 'National Donate Life Month' underscores the importance of
donation of not only organs and tissues, but also marrow and blood." The goal is to "raise public awareness of the critical need." The need for... "In recent years,
the science of organ transplantation has made great strides. Unfortunately,
the process of securing and allocating organs has not matched
this progress. There still is a critical shortage of organs. Here
are some statistics: * The number of people waiting to receive
an organ transplant in the United States is rising. There are
now more than 82,000 people on the national organ transplantation
waiting list. * Each day, 63 people receive an organ transplant,
but another 16 people on the waiting list die because organs aren't
available." Every day, "people on the waiting list die because organs aren't available." "There are two essential
steps to saving lives through organ donation. 1. SHARE YOUR LIFE.
Decide to be a donor.Transplants provide hope for thousands of
people with organ failure. In addition, hundreds of thousands
more can be helped with tissue transplants. Unfortunately, the
need for donors is much greater than the actual number of donors.
Your commitment to organ and tissue donation can save lives. 2.
SHARE YOUR DECISION. Tell your family. The most important part
of deciding to be a donor is telling your family. Talking about
donation doesn't mean talking about death. It is talking about
the opportunity to give another person a second chance at life.
... There is no national registry of organ and tissue donors.
Even if you have signed something, be sure you have told your
family of your wishes as they will be consulted before donation
can take place." Making the decision is not enough; you need to talk with your family and let them know what you have decided. Now what? Once you've talked to your family, you won't have to think about that issue again... Right? "Kidney and sometimes
liver transplant patients are now routinely urged by their physicians
to seek living donors after being told it will take years before
they reach the top of the waiting list, which now numbers more
than 87,000 for all organs. Relatives and friends could feel pressured
to say yes. Last year, there were nearly 7,000 living organ donors
-- more than double the number a decade ago. Most gave a kidney;
about 300 gave a liver lobe, and 28 donated a piece of lung." Someone you love asks you to help. You want to help, but you have your concerns... "While many living
donors suffer no problems, others fight pain after surgery and
other complications, and a few die. Hospitals vary widely in what
they tell potential donors and how they screen them. The new rules
would require hospitals to spell out the risks. Those that fail
to comply could lose Medicare payments, a powerful tool aimed
at ensuring that centers are providing quality care and looking
out for living donors, whose numbers have soared amid an acute
shortage of organs from the dead. ... " What if someone you love didn't need an organ, but needed something your body could replace? "A marrow or blood
cell transplant is a potentially life-saving treatment for patients
with leukemia, lymphoma, and other blood diseases. A transplant
replaces a patient's unhealthy blood cells with healthy blood-forming
cells from a volunteer donor. ... Because tissue type is inherited,
patients are most likely to match someone of their same race and
ethnicity. There is a special need to recruit more donors who
identify themselves as: Black or African American, American Indian
or Alaska Native, Asian, Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, Hispanic
or Latino. ... A donor's marrow is completely replaced within
four to six weeks.... Most donors are back to their usual routine
in a few days. Some may take two to three weeks before they feel
completely recovered. ... These effects go away shortly after
donating. When asked about their discomfort, most donors are quick
to point out that it was worth it to help save a life, and they
would be willing to do it again.... Potential donors must be between
the ages of 18 and 60 years old and meet health guidelines."
What if it is someone you love? A family member? A friend? What if your marrow was needed by a total stranger? What about your blood? "To give blood for
transfusion to another person, you must be healthy, be at least
17 years old or 16 years old if allowed by state law, weigh at
least 110 pounds, and not have donated blood in the last 8 weeks
(56 days). 'Healthy' means that you feel well and can perform
normal activities. If you have a chronic condition such as diabetes
or high blood pressure, 'healthy' also means that you are being
treated and the condition is under control. Other aspects of each
potential donor's health history are discussed as part of the
donation process before any blood is collected. Each donor receives
a brief examination during which temperature, pulse, blood pressure
and blood count (hemoglobin or hematocrit) are measured."
While alive, many people donate blood; some people donate bone marrow; few people donate organs. If tragedy strikes, and a loved one dies suddenly, many try to honor the wishes of the one who died. Others don't know what those wishes were. Questions of the Week: Please email me with any ideas or suggestions. I look forward to reading what you have to say. Cindy |
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