Organ Donation Essay

Many citizens constantly see television shows and media that negatively portray organ donation. One prime example comes from the new hit series, Nip Tuck. Nip Tuck has a storyline built around this image of beauty through plastic surgery while working with an underground kidney market. Many patients in this show wind up being murdered in some cruel intentional way just for a single kidney. Not only does this pull negativity to organ transplants already but someone watching also has to fear the person in need of that organ. Majority of the time Nip Tuck has wealthy, well connected businessmen who need the transplants. Symbolizing any type of authority figure with the power to take a life can begin to inflict a slight amount of oppression through the viewer’s mind. With Organ donation becoming thrown into this light constantly people willing to give donated organs to citizens of need has drastically begun to decrease. More Americans are becoming obsessed with living longer and experiencing more, ignoring the basic side effects of their actions and soon needing some form of organ donated. This growth in exploration has created a large demand for many of these operations, shoes that simply cannot be filled. Organ donation serves three main positive purposes, Scientific Studies, Medical transplants, and Hope. While many might not know a multi-organ procedure is possible many of the same failures an individual could have in their heart, could be linked to the trouble in their kidneys and surprisingly the procedure is relatively common. With a single organ donation there is always the risk of the individual’s body’s rejection of this new article. Now if we introduce two different organs in one operation, the odds Allee 2  of a body rejecting at least one of the organs grow drastically. This adds multiple different stresses on the body not only because of the two separate procedures but as well as on the inside as the body tries to become familiar  with these new tools. Studies show that clinical data on all episodes of treated rejection from a multi-organ transplant out of 56 patients; â€Å"48% of these patients have had no rejection in either organ, 27% experienced heart rejection alone, 14% experienced kidney rejection alone, and 11% had both heart and kidney allograft rejection†( pg. 861-867). Of course there are other factors that play into these tests such as age or condition of other organs but the main outlier in this study was actually the severity of any surgery. Many would look at these percentages in the study as a negative outcome. What wasn’t stated earlier about this experiment was that all 48% of the successful transplants were heart and kidney transplants. The other 52% that had trouble with the new organs were simply because of the isolated heart transplant procedure. This procedure allows for scarce to no mistakes throughout the entire process because of the preciseness. The argument is then discredited because of the relationships with many other surgeries because of the high risk factors. Technological advances are constantly erupting in the medical field from surgery techniques to the basic procedures and listed instructions being taught to the successors of the current medical staffs. The process of organ donation is only increasing in effectiveness and soon will become a large industry in the economic jungle, as of now organ donation may still be a recalled toy in some cases but the kinks are all becoming smooth and positively functional. Constantly refuted is the health and disease control of most transplant procedures which can contain a plethora of viruses. Facts show that a patient receiving a solid organ transplant was 10 times more likely to become infected with cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease 15 years ago. New advancements and studies have designed an antivirus treatment that is over 95% successful at containing and illuminating CMV within six to twelve months. The patient will receive doses of antiviral prophylaxis either orally or by injection consistently for several months. As the patient shows progress and recovery the dosage is steadily decreased until the body becomes completely self-sufficient. Putting the disease concern to rest another opposition of organ transplants can come in the form of broken or fractured bones. When an individual  receives a transplant the bone structure around the area can become under pressure from the swelling organ trying to recover. A study was conducted in 1994 and scientists were shocked to find â€Å"fracture incidence was 13 times higher than expected in male heart recipients age 45–64 years; nearly 5 times higher in male kidney recipients age 25–44 and age 45–64 years; and 18 times and 34 times higher in female kidney recipients age 25–44 years and 45–64 years compared with NHIS data† (Department of Medicine, 1999). The study was taken from six hundred patients and out of those six hundred fifty six individuals had fractures during their recoveries. Another aspect in the recovery process is the fact that the patient’s body will be weak and low on nutrients due to the lack of food intake and nutrients. The longer a person’s recovery period the more likely he or she could develop weak muscle tissue, and bone structure leading to more incidents. The care programs developed in this day and age not only surpass any rehabilitation abilities from 1994. Now treatment not only includes multiple vitamin and nutritional supplements but also multiple electrostatic treatments specifically designed to work an individual’s muscle structure. This will provide motion and a large supply of blood flowing to the area or muscle needing the extra work. As the muscle structure improves a patient’s bone structure becomes stabilized and reinforced leaving the entire patients system in close to complete health. Organ donation has also been studied from multiple perspectives of the patient and donor. Scientists first wondered the thought process an individual went through to part with his or her organ. One would expect that a person about to go through this procedure would look for some knowledge or research before relinquishing their organ. A study found that not only did the majority of organ donors not have any factual information about their procedure from previous classes or events but the donors also had done absolutely no research on the topic. This showed the scientists that there was no apparent cognitive thought process for committing this act. Most of the studied donors discovered a sense of satisfaction after the procedure simply from the knowledge that they could have possibly saved a life. Another angle taken by scientists was more  direct towards the patient receiving the organ. UNOS is a private, nonprofit organization that coordinates the nation’s organ transplant system under contract with the federal government. In the year 2000, more than 5,500 Americans died awaiting transplants, and in the U.S., there are currently over 80,000 people awaiting transplants. Having abundance in patients waiting for an organ and the shortage in supply majority of the organs received are from people who have passed away and donated their bodies to science. Although a donor can survive his or her life even after giving up a Kidney, portions of the liver, skin & bone marrow few individuals are willing to take this risk only increasing this shortage. Every 10 minutes, a new person is added to the organ transplant waiting list. When a patient receives an organ the family gains an immediate boost of moral and hope. The placebo affect organizes in full force when it comes to surgery. Knowledge alone can give the patient enough to fight and continue the upward rise to recovery. Ninety percent of Americans have openly stated that they are for organ donation. Life changes are difficult to make. Organ transplantation includes plenty of these changes in order for recovery and success. In the end change is for the better. Organ transplantation calls for a healthier diet and slowly working into exercise practices. Any patient will gain from this in the process and the new organ or area from the surgery will not be the only part of their body positively affected by this change. Organ donation is a necessary medical implement and there will always be a need as long as the technology keeps its firm grasp on the medical society. If the organization UNOS does not remain in supply and continue helping save lives many more lives will be lost. Not from loss in supply of the organs but more so from underground procedures. One example of this is constantly seen in Mexico. There was a woman who had needed some cash so she decided to donate a kidney. This individual was told no passport or information would be necessary and that she would simply take a bus to a small Mexican border town then be brought back. Border patrol intercepted a woman being forcibly taken across the border, found in the vehicle was a complete surgical kit, a  single shovel, and a large trash bag. Not only would this individual have never seen another day of life and laughter but this would just be the beginning if organ donation ceased to exist. Eliminating these organ transplant foundations would introduce patients to multiple diseases, possible contamination, and worst of all death from incorrect practice. All of the information only points to a positive present for organ transplants. As long as citizens see the dire need for support and donors, soon organ transplantation will have a successful future, full of keeping both hop es and dreams alive. Works Cited Abecassis M, Adams M, Adams P, et al. Consensus statement on the live organ donor. JAMA 2000;284:2919-2926 Bredehorn T. et al. (2002), â€Å"Questioning the relatives for organ and tissue donation,â€Å" Transplantation proceedings 34(6):2353-4. DiSalvo, Thomas. Clinical Transplantation: Williams & Wilkins 1997, 27 March – Volume 63 – Issue 6 – pg. 861-867, Ed Lovern, â€Å"HHS launches bid for organ donations,† Modern Healthcare, 23 April 2001, 21. Lock M., Schmidt V.-H. (2003), â€Å"Twice dead: organ transplant and the reinvention of death,† Asian journal of social science (31)1:137-41. Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (OPTN) National Waiting List, as of 2 August 2002. Available: http://www.unos.org/frame_Default.asp?Category=Newsdata. Accessed 8 August 2002. Reprints or correspondence: Dr. Carlos V. Paya, Div. of Infectious Diseases, 200 First St. SW, Rochester, MN 55905 (paya@mayo.edu) U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Organ Donation: Donate Life, â€Å"Frequently Asked Questions.† Available at http://www.organdonor.gov/faq.html. Accessed 08/08/2002.