The Chic Medic: April 2015

ORGAN DONATION: TO OR NOT TO !!

14:54

A lot of us never think about death or dying. The fact that we are passing through this world usually escapes our conscious and unconscious. We like to believe we are immortal until something dreadful happens… then for one brief moment, we wonder about death. It could last anything from a few seconds to 2 days but soon after that, we are back to being invincible – with our unknown ability to defy death. Lets for one moment, think about the fact that we will all die someday. I do mean actively think about it. Are you ready? Have you lived life the way you would have loved to? Is your life full of regrets or have you done at least three things on your bucket list. That is a discussion for another day. Today however, I wanted to bring up thoughts on organ donation.

How many of us are listed as organ donors officially or have told our next of kin about organ donation? I am a guilty. I have had fleeting thoughts about it, but never made any commitment. Would you be an organ donor? How would you feel if your parent/sibling/partner were in hospital and his or her heart could save someone else? Would you be able to make that decision and what would it be? African, Afro-Carribean and south Asian communities seem have a longer waiting list for organs than Caucasians. Of course this can be contributed to their smaller numbers in the western world but perhaps this is also due to lack of organs? Is there awareness in these communities about organ donation? I do not have the answer to these questions but perhaps if we put our heads together, we can make a change?

I suppose a huge question is – why are people reluctant to be organ donors? Religious reasons seem to be the main reason for refusal to donate. The gypsies and Shinto two communities/religions I have come across that don’t believe in organ donation. The gypsies believe in the afterlife and the fact that one year after death, the soul retraces its life and needs its full physical shape. I am not sure what happens if you were in a road traffic accident with your body crushed – I guess you wont have a soul? I am not an expert on gypsy traditions so what do I know? In Shinto, injuring a dead body is a serious crime as the dead is considered very powerful. To each his own I suppose!! Personally, I think it all comes down to personal preference and education. There are quite a few people out there who have misconceptions about organ donation. Here are a few facts I gathered from the Mayo Clinic website;

If you decide to be an organ donor, the staff will still work very hard to change your life
Organ donation does not mean you can’t have an open casket
Rich and famous people are not at the top of the organ transplant list
There is no cut-off age for organ donation
You can find more by clicking here

You might not get to tick all the items on your bucket list, or have lived life the way you dreamed it would be, but you could do something now… become an organ donor. You could save a life.