Save Lives; Become an Organ Donor

The Chronicle @ Kettle Run - Kettle Run High School

Seventh grader Sydney Davies has been dealing with Acute Myeloid Leukemia since July 2011. Davies’ case has prompted hundreds of teenagers, and adults, within the community to receive testing to determine whether or not they could be a bone marrow donor and has inspired others to become organ donors.

According to the National Kidney Foundation, there are currently over 104,000 Americans in need of an organ transplant, and every day, approximately 18 of these people die waiting for a donation that never comes. Ten percent of patients waiting for transplants are children under 18 years old and can often only accept organs from those who are the same size. The numbers are shocking, but the only way to save the patients’ lives is to register to be an organ donor.

While organ donations can be given through a live donor for certain organs, donations most often are taken when a patient at a hospital is officially pronounced dead. Sadly, misconceptions and fears about organ donation prevent people from registering to become an organ donor and potentially saving others’ lives.
Though the myths that surround organ donation are many and varied, the Mayo Clinic confronts some of the most common.

Among these myths is that if someone is an organ donor, the hospital won’t work as hard to save their life and that the donor’s family will have to pay for the donation expenses.
Read more: http://my.hsj.org/Schools/Newspaper/tabid/100/view/frontpage/articleid/494934/newspaperid/3082/Save_Lives_Become_an_Organ_Donor.aspx