Why Is Organ Donation Important Free Essays

Why is organ transplant important The reason why I think organ donation is very important, because it gives a second chance to life to a person that is in need of an organ because they organs have start to fail and shut down. Although clinical issues such as the possibility of the recipient’s body rejecting the organ have been raised, the social and legal issues—from determining how donations should be handled and who should receive them, to the black-market practice of organ trafficking—spark the most heated debates. They help save lives and also give second chances to live to many people. We will write a custom essay sample on Why Is Organ Donation Important or any similar topic only for you Order Now . History and the types of organ transplants 2. Why is it so important to become organ donor 3. Who decides who gets the Organs Transplant first I. History and types of Organ Transplant A. The first organ transplant (a skin graft) was completed in 1869. However, it was not until almost a century later, in 1954, that surgeons transplanted the first internal organ, a kidney, when a living donor donated to his identical twin. B. Today, organs that can be transplanted include the kidneys, liver, heart, lungs, pancreas, intestine, and skin. C. Although some of these, such as the heart, can only be transplanted from recently deceased donors, transplant surgeons have made several advances in transplanting organs from living donors, most notably a split-liver transplant, in which a live donor shares a portion of his or her liver with the recipient—the liver being the only organ that can regenerate itself to some degree. II. Why is it so important to become organ donors A. The shortage of organs has increased the use of so-called expanded-criteria organs, or organs that used to be considered unsuitable for transplant. B If organ sales are voluntary, it’s hard to fault either the buyer or the seller. But as long as the market remains underground the donors may not receive adequate postoperative care, and that puts a black mark on all proposals to legalize financial compensation. C. The world-wide shortage of organs is going to get worse before it gets better, but we do have options. Presumed consent, financial compensation for living and deceased donors and point systems would all increase the supply of transplant organs. Too many people have died already but pressure is mounting for innovation that will save lives. I think that without people becoming an organ donor that many more lives will start to fail within the next couple of years, and so more people that have been waiting on organ transplants list will start to die for from some type of organ failure. III. Who gets the organ Transplant first A. Organs are allocated (given) according to strict rules that take into account physical matching, tissue and blood type matching, medical criteria, waiting time, severity of illness, etc. The allocation system is blind to name, race, sex, and wealth. B. At the time of death, the team that coordinates donation will review medical and social histories to determine donor suitability on a case-by-case basis. Many diseases that were once considered to exclude organ donation are no longer considered a barrier. Examples include hepatitis and diabetes. C. Age limits for organ donation no longer exist. Organs may be donated from someone as young as a newborn and as old as 90. The liver, in particular, does not age like other organs and livers are commonly donated by people in their 70’s and 80’s. How to cite Why Is Organ Donation Important, Essay examples