Running head: Annotated Bibliography 1

Annotated Bibliography

Organ Donation

Elisabeth Baker

English 4

Albion High School

December 1, 2017
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Annotated Bibliography: Organ Donation

After reading many different articles about organ donation I discovered that it has been

very popular since the 1980s. Yes, it was used before then but it did not pick up until then.

683,000 transplants have been used to save many people’s lives. It does not matter what age,

race, or ethnicity you are. Anybody who signs to be an organ donor will be used to help in any

way or another. In fact, to be a donor you do not have to be dead either. Many people think that

to be an organ donor you have to be dead. 45% of organ donors are “living donors”. Living

donors have to make a conscious decision to donate an organ, on the basis that the remaining

organ will continue to function, such as a kidney. However, donors who are dead get examined

after they pass away to see how useful their organs are. In my opinion, I highly support donating

your organs after death because you won’t even be around to care about what happens to your

body. So for anybody who doesn’t, I think it is selfish. If you never get a real opportunity to help

somebody when your are alive and well, you have the second chance to help somebody by

donating your organs to somebody in need.

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Donate Life America. 2017. Types of Organ Donation. Retrieved from

https://www.donatelife.net/types-of-donation/.

This is not your typical website. This website is full of mind boggling statistics about organ

donation. I believe that so many interesting statistics are mentioned to persuade people to

become an organ donor. For example this article mentioned that “116,000 men, women and

children await lifesaving organ transplants”. But, going along with this statistic then also say

“Even the largest football stadium in the US could not fit the number of patients on the national

transplant waiting list”. Not only does that blow people's minds, it appeals and relates to many.

By doing this, it makes average people realize how many people are in need of an organ which

probably persuades people to donate. This website is filled with many other eye opening facts.

Did you know that 683,000 donations have taken place since 1988? Looking at this site really

makes me think about becoming an organ donor and I believe that is the main point of it.

Tsai, Ellen MD; Shemie, Sam D. MD; Cox, Peter N. 2012. Organ donation in children: Role of

the pediatric intensive care unit. Retrieved from

http://journals.lww.com/pccmjournal/Abstract/2000/10000/Organ_donation_in_children__Role_

of_the_pediatric.12.aspx.

This article was written after an experiment. Therefore, it is a retrospective study. The study of

this experiment was to focus on the children who are waiting for organ transplants. There are

many who continue to die due to the shortage of available organs. It has been found that organ

donation in children are scarce. The evaluation of the organ donation experience in a pediatric
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tertiary care hospital identified many factors that influence actual organ donation rates and were

used to create strategies to improve pediatric organ donation. The patients in this study were all

children with brain death over an 8 year period. It was found that out of “199 children who

fulfilled the criteria for brain death, only 153 were medically suitable for organ donation”.

Overall, when 63% consent rate for organ donation when families are approached, only 41% of

potential donors actually proceed to donation. I believe this article was mainly written to show

how many people could be a donator but chose not not.

Brazier, Y. (2016, March 10). "Organ donation: most are willing to give, so why is there a donor

shortage?." Medical News Today. Retrieved from

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/307514.php.

Brazier’s article is easy to read and informative. The author begins this article by informing the

readers when the first successful kidney transplant took place between two twins. This occurred

in 1954 and ever since then, organ transplants have become a huge necessity in this world. Also

in this article it discussed organ donations throughout the world. It has been found that “the US

ranked third among 13 European nations in terms of organ donation from the deceased”. As this

article flows, it contains a section full of statistics. Brazier includes the fact that since 1988,

“There were 384,694 kidney, 139,371 liver, 8,110 pancreas, 62,267 heart, 30,822 lung and 2,644

intestine transplants”. To get the point across that the most common organ that is typically

needed is the kidney. A part of this article tries to pinpoint and discuss why people who are

capable of donating don’t do it. Brazier says, “Personal or religious beliefs deter some people
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from registering or donating”. Overall, this website was very engaging, informative, and full of

statistics.

Organ Donation and Transplants. 2017. Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved from

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/organ-donation-and-transplantation.

This website was made to inform and teach people. It began by giving the definition of organ

donation. It defines it as “the process of surgically removing an organ or tissue from one person

and placing it into another. Organs that can be donated include the liver, kidney, pancreas, heart,

and many others”. Also, on this website it talks about who can donate and how to become an

donator. People of all ages are potential donors. Also, even when people die they are evaluated to

see if their organs are in good enough shape to be donated based on their medical history and

age. As this article goes on, it talks about how much it costs to be a donator. In fact, it is free.

The only cost that a deceased donor’s family is charged with is the cost of the funeral. This

article is very educational and could be used to teach many people about organ donation.

Understanding Donation. 2004. A Gift of a Lifetime. Retrieved from

http://www.organtransplants.org/understanding/unos/.

This article is a bit different than the rest. Its focus point is the transplant waiting list and the

principles that go into choosing the donor and the recipient. In 1984, the National Organ

Transplant Act established the organ procurement and transplant network(OPTN) which created

a national organ sharing system to guarantee fairness in the allocation of organs for transplant.
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Contrary to popular belief, the transplant waiting list is not just as it sounds. There is no ranking

or patient order until a donor is found, then the patient is chosen according to the donor's

characteristics. Toward the end of the article, it begins to talk about the geographical area that the

donors are from. “80% of all organs donated are used in the same geographic area” so the idea

that organs are crossing the country is just a myth. overall the article was not to lengthy, well and

well organized.

Organ and Tissue Authority. 2014. Understanding the Donation Process. Retrieved from

http://www.donatelife.gov.au/understanding-donation-process.

Because this article is coming from the Australian Government, I thought that the statistics

would be different compared to the United States. However, they were very similar. The article

was organized in a different fashion starting with explaining what must occur to be considered

for an organ donation and then moving to what an organ and tissue donation entails. The website

included a few diagrams and frequently asked questions to truly teach the viewer and have them

develop an overall understanding. The frequently asked questions were not only about the organ

donation problem itself but about the cost of the donation and the support services that are

available. Within the text it discusses the fact that in order for transplants to take place the donor

must be dead. It then goes on to inform readers that there are two types of deaths, brian death and

circulatory death. The author describes the two types of deaths to support you and your family

that donation is the right thing to do.

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Consumer Health. 2017. Organ Donation, Don’t Let These Myths Confuse You. Retrieved from

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/organ-donation/art-

20047529.

Unlike all of the other websites that I have looked at, this one is organized very differently. It

begins with a common statistic such as, “Over 100,000 people in the United States are waiting

for an organ transplant.” It then precedes to fluctuate between myths and the real facts discussing

why they are incorrect. For example, the first myth they even discuss is “If I agree to donate my

organs, the hospital staff won’t work as hard to save my life.” The author then went on to explain

why that statement was a myth. He said that doctor’s main priority is to save their patients lives,

no matter what the case is. In my opinion, the author constructs his article is a very different way

to appeal to the readers. After a series of myths and facts, the author then goes on to discuss why

everyone should consider donating and how to sign up to donate. I believe he set this up in a very

intelligent way.

New Mexico Donor Services. 2017. Benefits of Organ Donation. Retrieved from

http://donatelifenm.org/facts-about-donation/benefits-of-organ-donation/.

Short, sweet, and simple. This source is not lengthy but that could be misleading. It is very

simple and gets its point across smoothly. There are six facts that inform people about organ

donation. For one, “Heart transplants for patients with diseases such as cardiomyopathy,

congenital heart disease and coronary artery disease.” These facts tell people which organs are

used for what. With the use of these straightforward facts it persuades readers to become organ
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donors. I believe the author does not make his article lengthy because he wants it to get right to

the point. He probably thinks that the average reader will not take the time to read something

long. Therefore, he cuts to his point quick. In my opinion this is not bad thing, I certainly like

that the article was so short, easy to read, and tell exactly what the author was trying to say right

from the beginning.