Organ Donation - Donate Your Body

Have you given any thought to organ donation or body donation? Of course, I’m talking about after you die and don’t need your body or your internal organs any longer. I really don’t understand why everyone doesn’t choose to be an organ donor. If these people believe in Heaven, are they afraid they’ll arrive at the pearly gates without a liver, pancreas, or other vital organs? If they’ve donated their corneas, do they think they’ll wander around blind for all eternity? Why keep something you no longer need, when it could save lives and improve lives? Body donation is another subject, and I can understand why people might not wish to donate their body to science. If you really think about it, though, it’s the natural way to go – and it’s a lot cheaper than burial or cremation. Maybe after reading this article, you’ll decide to become an organ donor. Hopefully, you’ll see organ donation and even body donation in a new light.

Through organ donation, you have the amazing power to save lives. There aren’t nearly enough organ donors to fill the needs of those waiting for someone to donate life and hope. Many of those waiting are children. If they don’t receive the organs they need, they’ll die. The thought of helping save these kids should be a gripping incentive to anyone even considering donating organs. There are many, many adults who need healthy organs and tissues, too. These patients are mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, husbands, wives, and grandparents.

Typically, organ donation doesn’t include only organs. The term usually includes tissue and eye donation, too. Actual organs that might be reused include the liver, pancreas, heart, lungs, intestines, and kidneys. Tissues that are needed include skin, blood vessels, corneas, tendons, bones, and heart valves. I really like the idea of my lifeless body being put to good use. I’ve discussed it with my three adult children, and they all agree with my decision. In fact, they’re all organ donors, too. We sort of like the idea that parts of us will live on in the physical sense.

There are often a lot of misconceptions about donating your organs, and some of them are pretty far-fetched notions. I’ll give you some actual organ donation facts here to help put your mind at ease. A few people seem to think that if the medical staff at a hospital knows a patient is an organ donor, the team won’t try very hard to save the person’s life. That is absolutely not true. The physicians are intent on saving your life, and if it’s at all possible, they will. They’re focused on the patient at hand – not someone a thousand miles away who might be waiting for an organ donation.

Some people also think they can’t have an open casket at their funeral if they’ve donated their organs, eyes, and tissues. Again, this isn’t true – unless maybe you plan on being naked while your body is on display to family and friends. Otherwise, your clothes will cover any incisions, and your eyelids will be closed.

One of the scariest misconceptions about organ donation is that the medical team won’t wait until you’re completely dead before they begin harvesting your body parts. The organ donation facts here are that they’ll have to be even surer of your death than they’d have to be if you weren’t an organ donor.

Fears and misconceptions might also have to do with religious beliefs. I had a friend and co-worker who was a member of a rather strange religion. She had a terminal disease, and she wouldn’t accept donations that could have saved her life. She wouldn’t donate any of her organs, either. She believed that doing so would mean giving up her eternal soul to a stranger. I really don’t like to knock anyone’s religion, but as a Christian, I don’t understand this line of thinking. I don’t believe our souls are connected to our body parts. And I think God wants us to help save the lives of others.

Here are some sobering organ donation facts: Over 100,000 people are on the waiting list for organ donations. There are even more people who have applied but haven’t yet been approved as candidates. Of the number of candidates, close to 2,000 are children. Children should be able to look forward to a long life instead of facing imminent death.

You can’t be too old to donate organs. You don’t have to be in great health, either. There are a few conditions that will automatically disqualify you, however. They include HIV, some severe infections, and cancers that are active and spreading. Otherwise, it’s very likely that at least some of your organs or tissues can be used.

Some people believe their organs will go to wealthy or important people – that these types of patients are automatically moved to the top of the waiting list because of their power or financial status. Not true. Patients are assessed by how long they’ve been waiting, by how sick they are, by their location, and by their blood type. Organs and tissues have to be “a match.”

Some people also think there’s a charge involved with donating organs and tissues, but there’s not. Your loved ones won’t be charged a fee. They won’t receive any payment, either. Organ donation is a gift – not a money-making commodity. Forget about all those horror stories that tell of people being drugged and waking up in an ice-filled bathtub with their kidney removed. I’m talking here about legal organ donations done by medical professionals after you’re brain dead.

Organ donation saves lives, but that’s not all it does. It can also greatly improve lives by restoring vision and/or hearing, and by helping patients heal from injuries to their skin and bones. Burn victims, for example, usually need skin grafts, and those who have bone injuries or trauma might need bone grafts. With organ donation, you won’t just donate life. In some cases, you’ll donate a much better life. Even better, your gifts might save several lives and improve even more lives.

One of the best ways to donate life is through organ donation. In fact, it might be the very best way to save lives. Some people think that donating organs might save one or two lives, but in reality, your organs might save as many as eight or ten lives, and your tissue donations could improve the lives of as many as fifty individuals. Think of all the people in the world who’re waiting for donated organs. According to Organ Donor, a government website, there are 119,329 people waiting for an organ donation – and that’s the figure for the United States alone. Also, according to the site, a new name is added to that long list on an average of six per hour. Also, an average of eighteen patients die every day waiting for an organ donation that never happened. The government site states that one organ donor can save eight lives, but other sites list that figure as a little higher – nine or ten lives.

What life-saving organs are needed right now? Currently, there are almost 100,000 candidates waiting for kidney transplants. Over 15,000 are waiting for a liver. 3,500 patients are waiting for a new heart. More than 1,600 are awaiting a lung transplant. More than a thousand are hoping for a healthy pancreas. Most of these patients won’t survive unless people choose to donate life to them.

To donate life is to give the ultimate gift. Yes, your corneas, tissue, and organ donation will usually go to a complete stranger, but so what? Try to imagine facing death every day, waiting on pins and needles for some generous and thoughtful stranger to give you a chance to survive. If more of us become organ donors, there might not even be a waiting list. Wouldn’t it be great if everyone who needs an organ or some tissue could be saved, without having to endure an excruciating wait, all the while knowing that your savior might never appear?

If you live in the US, you probably already know how to become an organ donor. Most adult US citizens know about organ donation. Every time I’ve ever been a patient in the hospital, even if it was just a visit to the emergency room, I was asked if I was an organ donor. Whenever I have tests run at my doctor’s lab, they ask me about organ donation, too. I always have to check and initial that option on the required forms. Whenever I visit my oncologist for my six months tests and checkup, I have to do the same thing. The problem is that even though almost every adult in the US knows about donating organs, only about a third actually know how to become an organ donor.

If you want to be an organ donor, make sure your doctor is aware of that. If you have an advanced directive on file at your local hospital, which is a good idea, make sure you include your wishes about organ donation. Have it put on your driver’s license, too. In most states, you can register online as an organ donor, and you’ll receive a card to keep in your billfold or wallet. Most of all, make sure your family knows your wishes. Discuss it with them while you’re still alive. Don’t just put it in your will. It’ll be too late to donate your organs after your will is read. Organs and tissues to be donated have to be kept viable after your brain is dead.

Don’t put off discussing this with your family and loved ones. You never know what your future holds. You could suffer serious head trauma and brain death tomorrow. I realize discussing your death with your loved ones can be uncomfortable for all involved parties, but it’s important to do so. We have to face it – we’re all going to die. With organ donation, you can make your death count for something.

I signed up for organ donation years ago, and recently, I’ve also made a decision about body donation. I’ve always had an irrational fear of premature burial. You know – being buried alive. I’m sure this stems from a Vincent Price horror movie I saw as a child. This fear was probably exacerbated by all the years I taught British lit and the black plague. Lots of people were buried alive then. Yes, my rational mind knows that premature burial in this day and age, with embalmment, is impossible, but I’d probably wind up with an ex-student doing the embalming. It would likely be one who failed my class, and he’d figure he’d get even with me by not performing the task. Then I’d wake up in a few hours and find myself trapped in a coffin, with no way to escape. What a terrible way to die!

I’m 55 years old now, and I have the sneaking suspicion that I might actually die one day. When I do, I don’t want to be buried. For years, I thought cremation was the best option. When I was doing my funeral planning, I even asked the local funeral director if my family could rent a casket for the viewing, and he said yes. That way, my family could still have a traditional funeral with a viewing before my body was sent to the crematory. I wasn’t wild about the idea of being burned in a kiln, but I thought it was better than being buried. Last year, I discovered the perfect option for my body. I’m going to donate body to science - to the Body Farm.

My body is going to be sent to the Forensic Anthropology Center at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Often referred to as the “Body Farm,” the center uses donated bodies to help solve crimes. The folks there study decomposing bodies. Donors can state whether they want their body to be in water or not. From what I’ve read, you can still donate your organs if you’ve decided to have your body sent to the Body Farm. That’s a great idea to me – organ donation to people in dire need, and body donation to help with the cause of justice. You won’t be embalmed, however. I suppose that would interfere with the decomposition. The University of Tennessee will pay for the body to be transported if it’s within 100 miles of Knoxville.

Why do I think body donation is a great idea? I have several reasons as to why I prefer body donation to burial and cremation. I like the idea of lying out in the woods or in a field, decomposing naturally. I also like the idea of my death serving some useful purpose. I like my flesh being returned to the earth in a natural process, providing food for other creatures like worms and beetles. My husband has decided on body donation, too, so maybe they’ll put us near each other.

I contacted the center, and they sent me some papers to fill out. When the papers are completed and returned, the Body Farm will create a file for me. My family is aware of my wishes, and I have them written down in my funeral plans, along with the contact number for the Body Farm. My kids think the idea is rather strange, but they’re more than willing to honor my wishes.

Another reason I’ve made these decisions concerning organ donation and body donation is because of funeral costs. The most expensive items included in funeral costs are usually the casket and the burial plot. My family won’t have to worry about either of these. They can still have a funeral ceremony, but it will be a heck of a lot cheaper than a traditional funeral. When you’re thinking about funeral planning, you might want to consider body donation as an alternative to burial or cremation. Getting this decision out of the way has lifted a burden from my shoulders – no more worrying about being buried alive! I also have the peace of mind knowing that even when I’m dead, I can still help others through body donation and organ donation.