1,647 people in Ontario are waiting for an organ right now.
Many of them will die before they even come close to the top of the waiting list.
- 295 people are waiting for a Liver
- 46 people are waiting for a Heart
- 1189 people are waiting for a Kidney
- 53 people are waiting for a Lung
- 1 person is waiting for a Heart and Lung
- 19 people are waiting for a Pancreas
- 4 people are waiting for a Small Bowel
- 40 people are waiting for a Kidney and a Pancreas
It really puts things in perspective, doesn’t it?
There is a campaign going on right now by the Trillium Gift Of Life Network in universities around Ontario encouraging young adults to sign their donor cards.
Why Donate?
- Everyone is a potential organ and tissue donor, regardless of their age. To date, the oldest Canadian organ donor was over 90 years of age while the oldest tissue donor was 102 years old.
- Ultimately the ability to become an organ and tissue donor depends on several factors including the health of the organs and tissue at the time of death.
- Recovery of organs and tissue is carried out with respect and dignity. It does not interfere with funeral practices and no one will know about your gift of life unless your family tells them.
- Organs and tissue that can be donated after death include the heart, liver, kidneys, pancreas, lungs, small bowel, stomach, corneas, heart valves, bone and skin.
- Studies show that donating the organs and tissue of a loved one who has died can provide immediate comfort and long-lasting consolation to family members in their grieving.
- There is also the possibility of making a living donation of a kidney or liver.
After watching this news segment, it hit me:
I had not signed my donor consent form.
I will admit, my reason was not a great one.
I was simply afraid to do it.
Plain and simple.
But after I read the statistics, I knew I had to put my fears aside.
I can only imagine how horrible of a feeling it is to be on a wait list and come to the realization that you are not going to have a transplant in time.
Or being the family member of a loved one who is waiting for an organ.
I went to the Trillium website, downloaded the form, filled it out, and walked it to the mailbox.
When I die, I would hope that something good could come out of it and one (or many) of my organs could potentially save another’s life or go towards research and education.
Why don’t they have an online form?
As I mentioned, you need to download the form, print it, and snail mail it in. I think that they would be much more successful with getting people to fill it out, if they provided an online submission form. I can see many people ‘not bothering’ to do it because you have to mail the form in. We are such a technology driven society that it really makes sense to have an online form. It could mean the difference of an extra 1,000 people filling it out, you never know! Just my two cents.
Deciding to become an organ donor is a very personal decision and not one to be taken lightly. I am not here to tell you to fill out a consent form. I am here to help spread the word of this campaign and provide you with the resources to make an educated decision of your own.
I think this is such an important topic that doesn’t get enough attention in the media.
For more information visit:
US Donor information: http://www.organdonor.gov/
UK Donor information: Click here
Canadian Info: http://organdonations.ca/
Every man dies. Not every man lives. ~Tim Robbins
Good for you for making that decision! Sounds like you checked all your facts first, too, Miss Researcher :)
Right as I was getting my driver’s license, my best friend was in the dying in the hospital while waiting for a multi-visceral transplant. When I looked at that form to be an organ donor, I knew I had to. If I died, I’d give a chance for Julie, or someone like her, to live. I signed that paper and never looked back.
Thanks for this post!
Great!! Good job!
This post reminded me to print my donor card and put it in my wallet. It is the least we can do for others.
Very proud of you, my friend.
Eliana
>^..^<
This was something I always knew I wanted to do. I can’t use my organs after my death and I want to give life to others if possible. I never understood people not doing it. Especially since all I had to do here in the US is check a box an its placed on my drivers licence.
It is important to also make your family and friends aware of your desires so that they will make the right choice when it comes to donation should the occasion arise. I’ve heard of instances where parent’s don’t want their child’s organs donated even if they child did and they make the wrong decision.
I was going to repeat cynthia’s suggestion to let your family and friends know that you want to donate … it’s so important for that decision to be made quickly and sometimes families are so in shock they don’t know what to do. I made sure I told my mom and dad when I signed my card because I didn’t want them to assume I didn’t want to. Thankfully they are very understanding and probably would have donated for me if that were presented as an option.
I’m proud of you!
Thanks for posting this! I had a childhood friend die while on the waiting list for a lung. When he died, I promised I’d do whatever I could to prevent that from happening to anyone else. My mom’s cousin had a successful kidney transplant that allowed him to live decades longer than expected. I know people have their reasons not to donate organs, but personally, I feel the body is temporary and would love to help someone else live a fuller life if I can. What a gift!
This reminds me that I should donate blood again!
Weirdest thing, but maybe some of you can relate.. my sister once told me that she would donate any part of herself, but her eyes. “Too personal” she said.. Cliche, but many (my sister included) feel eyes are the windows to the soul and therefore too close for comfort when it comes down to donation. Not judging, but I dunno. I feel the best thing we can do is understand that our bodies are only temporary temples.. as odd as this may sound, take care of your temple, but don’t get attached. I’m much more connected to my actual soul than I am to their “windows”.. but that’s me.
Great topic Angela.
This is so appropriate – I just talked about this with my parents on Sunday night because I had renewed my license last week and mentioned that I was an organ donor. They are both organ donors as well, and it lead to the important “if that ever happens” conversation.
My mom is a nurse practitioner and she started telling us about all the ways that your body can help other people in need – from your organs, to your bones, to your tissue…I won’t get too graphic but it reminded me that the human body is so amazing! That’s why it’s so important to take care of it now.
Thank you so much for posting this, Angela!! When my dad passed away, he was an organ donor, and we found out that other people had been able to use his corneas, kidneys, and liver, I believe. I am so proud of my dad for being an organ donor, as he was able to help others in his passing. I also did feel that it helped with the grieving process, knowing that even though his death was a tragic accident, he was able to contribute to the quality of life of others. As soon as I turned 16, I registered to be a donor!
If you aren’t gonna use it…why not give it to someone who can?
Further, blood marrow registry is something that I have as well.
M
Hi Angela –
I actually work in transplant medicine, so I thought I’d chime in to answer a couple questions for you.
The lack of online form: Online forms are usually not used because they are too easy. A consent form is valid because it stands for a reasoned decision that you have made from an understanding and informed position. If you have to print out a form and take action to send it in, it increases the likelihood that you are consciously choosing to donate your organs and it’s something you believe in. This also increases the likelihood that you have shared your beliefs and choices with your family and they will be less surprised in the event of your death and more likely to go along with your wishes.
Jewish donation: It’s fine to donate an organ if you are Jewish, but it has to be a living donation to someone you know. The official word is that anonymous donation and post-mortem donation are not ok, but living donation (liver, kidney, lung etc) is fine to someone specific.
Lastly, please sign your donation card as part of a medical plan. Fill out an advanced directive and tell your family and friends what you want for yourself in the event of an accident. The more people can attest to your beliefs, the better the odds that they will be held up. Simply signing a card will not always hold up if your family is against donation and the only evidence the hospital has of your choice to donate is a card. Tell people, spread the word and talk about donation. The more people know about it and make that important choice, the more people can be saved.
Thanks for bringing this up Angela, it’s so important for all of us to think about and remember.
Kristin
I said on my license application that I wanted to be an organ donor, but they forgot to put it on the actual card!
Deciding to donate your organs is a personal choice, and I would never condemn anyone for not choosing to do so. However, I encourage the many people that would, to actually make sure that they are!
For a long time, the idea of donating organs really creeped me out. Then somehow my thought process changed and I thought it was a really awesome last way to give of myself, even after I’ve passed away. My permit says I’m an organ donor and I’m proud of it :)
This is an awesome post. I’ve been meaning to register as an organ donor.
By any chance did you see Oprah today? They guest was the recipient of a face transplant. She’d survived a gunshot wound and now 80% of her face is from a donor. It’s a pretty amazing story.
Great way to get the word out there. I did this and was able to send out an email alerting anyone I wanted to know about my decision so that there would be no squabbling or questions.
Thanks for posting!
What a great thing thing to do and post about!
I’m in Alberta, so we can sign the back of our AHC cards- I did this quite a long time ago. The reason I did was because I know that when my time comes, I want to be cremated so I figured, whats the point of burning perfectly good organs if they can help someone else or help science- I will never know they are missing at that point.
Sorry if this sounds brutal, but those are my thoughts and thats why I signed my card!
I think it’s the best gift you can give <3
Great post! I signed my card as soon as I got to the age that I was allowed to. And that was years before the big campaign they have now to send everybody a form as soon as they turn 18. To me it would be such an honor and the last thing I could do to help someone. Also, now that I have a career in research I decided that I also want to donate my brain/body to research so they can do something useful with it. At first I did not want to donate my body to research, because I wouldn’t like a first year medicine student to cut me up (sorry for the brutal description). But you can specifiy what you want and if they use it for example for Alzheimer’s research then I would be ok with that.
I am loving this blog! I am definitely going to keep checking in.
Good on ya for signing up for organ donation. That is awesome.
Cheers!
Wow what a coincidence!!!
I filled out my form the week before last!!
They are campaigning around here in the past weeks a lot too…! (In Switzerland and of course not the same ppl ;)!)
Thanks for writing about it!! I think it’s an important topic!!
Oh and by the way…. I’m still enjoying each and every post of you!! ;)
Hugs
Thanks so much for posting this! I have a loved one who is a double-transplant survivor. Words don’t do justice…