Organ donors are needed to save lives

The Union Bulletin
A sad situation in Pennsylvania highlights the need for more organ donors.

Karen Corby is doing what most mothers — and fathers — would do if their child was denied a live-saving heart transplant. She is tugging at our emotions as she publicly questions the decision-making process in Pennsylvania that resulted in her 23-year-old autistic son with “psychiatric issues” not being high enough on the transplant list to get a new heart.

This is clearly a sad situation. It, however, is far from unique. Thousands of people are denied transplants every year as medical professionals weigh their chances of long-term survival in relation to others who need a transplant.

“The thing to keep in mind is if more of us would sign donor cards, there would be less pressure to reject anybody. It’s the huge shortage of hearts that really drives this problem,” said Arthur Caplan, head of the Division of Medical Ethics at New York University’s Langone Medical Center.

More than 6,000 people in America die while awaiting an organ transplant. Sadly, there is not a shortage of organs that could be transplanted from people who die in accidents. The problem is that most healthy organs are thrown away because too few are donors.

This problem is getting worse, not better. The list for organ donations is growing five times faster than the rate of organ donations.

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{Register to be an organ,eye and tissue donor. To learn how, www.donatelife.net or www.organdonor.gov}