Scott Kasteler

Organ Donation: A Source of Life

Imagine that it is a beautiful summer day here in the Salt Lake Valley. Your son, lets call him
Johnny, decides to buy a motorcycle. He decides to take it on the highay to do some heelies, stu!id
you might say, but he thinks it is orth the risk. So far he is doing good, his s!eed "uickly increases to
#$, then %&, and soon he is going '&& !lus. He then decides to do a heelie to sho off his skills. He
hits a rock and flies headfirst into a car in front of him. You get that terrible !hone call saying he as
killed on im!act. (o lets turn to Stacie, she is a young girl, ell say about '). Stacie has a series of
heart !roblems. She lies in her hos!ital bed aiting for a heart trans!lant, her !arents also get a !hone
call, this time it is good nes, *e ha+e found a heart for Stacie, says the doctor. -he heart belongs to
Johnny, the young man ho as killed. -oday, in large !art to the heart donated by Johnnys family and
the ad+ancement of technology, Stacie is a healthy, '. year old college freshman.
-he !rocess of organ donation has re+olutioni/ed the ay !eo!le li+e their li+es. 0rgan and
tissue trans!lants ha+e gi+en thousands of !eo!le the ability to return to, or e+en begin healthy,
!roducti+e li+es. -rans!lantation is in my o!inion the most remarkable and significant success
throughout the history of medicine. 0ften times, it is the only ho!e for !eo!le ho are suffering. 1bout
si2ty years ago, scientific studies re+ealed that the ability to trans!lant a human organ as in fact
!ossible and that it ould be beneficial to nearly thousands of !atients, hoe+er, they did not ha+e
ability to make it ork at that time.
1fter years of research, medical !rofessionals finally sa success. In the '%$&s se+eral kidney
trans!lants ga+e ne life to those !atients ho ere sick and dying. Years !assed by and as neer
technologies de+elo!ed doctors disco+ered ays to trans!lant other organs such as3 li+ers, !ancreas,
corneas, hearts, bone marro and tissue. -oday trans!lantation is considered the best o!tion for those
suffering from organ failures. Hoe+er, both medical !rofessionals and their !atients face a great
challenge3 -here arent enough organs a+ailable to su!!ly e+ery need. -o kee! a long story short, there
are not enough organ donations. 4atients must ait se+eral eeks, months, and for many, e+en years for
a chance to regain their health. 5nfortunately, the chance at recei+ing an organ ne+er comes. -here are
o+er $,&&& !otential trans!lant reci!ients ho die in the 5nited States e+ery year.
1ccording to 6arbara J. 7aly of 5ni+ersity Hos!ital of 8le+eland3 organ donation occurs in to
ste!s3 '
st
is at the ending of a !atients life, the hos!itals must gain !ermission for donation from the
!atient or the !atients family. 7onation cannot occur unless !ermission has been gi+en. (urses are the
!rimary caregi+ers ho are in+ol+ed in the end9of9life care and ha+e the ability to greatly affect re"uests
for organ donation. -hese nurses must be skilled in end9of9life care and be knoledgeable in
communicating ith the immediate family of the !atient, these re"uirements must be reached or the
organ donation :and the o!!ortunity to hel! reci!ients; ill most likely not occur. -hese nurses share
res!onsibility ith other healthcare !ro+iders for the "uality of both end9of9life care and the conditions
that may affect the donation !rocess.
In the state of 4ennsyl+ania both organ and tissue trans!lantation ha+e become an integral !art of
the states health care !rograms. -he reason for this success is due in large !art to all of the +olunteers
ho sho their illingness to share this gift of life ith those ho are in need. 4ennsyl+anias
7e!artment of Health has funded and su!!orted these !romotions of +oluntary donation for years and
ill continue to do so for many more years to come. In '%%< state la makers created 1ct '&= hich is
intended to aid in 4ennsyl+anias efforts to inform and encourage its citi/ens to become donors. 1s the
lead agency in State >o+ernment, the 7e!artment of Health is res!onsible for the coordination of organ
and tissue donation initiati+es and re!orting to the >eneral 1ssembly about donation !rogress.
-he main !ur!ose of this act as and still is to increase organ and tissue donation by means of
education and !ublic aareness acti+ities. -he 1ct !ro+ides for a !rogram that may !ro+ide some
co+erage of donor family e2!enses. 1lso, the 1ct hel!s to ensure that families of the deceased are gi+en
the o!!ortunity to donate the deceaseds organs and tissues.
?orks 8ited
htt!3@@.celebrationoflifemonument.com@history.!h!
htt!3@@ccn.aacnAournals.org@content@=)@=@#..full
htt!3@@.!ortal.state.!a.us@!ortal@ser+er.!t@community@organBdonationBaareness@'..)'
.donatelife9!a.org
htt!3@@.idslife.org@