Organ+Donation


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 * Global Need for Organ Donation being Met at 10% **

Over 120,000 people in American alone are awaiting an organ transplant. Roughly 42% of Adults in America are registered as organ donors. One individual can help as little as seven different people achieve the possibility of good health by organ donation. The seven major organs you can donate are the kidneys, liver, heart, pancreas, lungs, small bowel, and bone marrow. Beyond that, modern medicine has become equipped enough to transplant areas of the body such as parts of the eye, skin, tendons, bone, and even femoral veins. Organ donation can benefit a wide range of individuals from those who are blind to those who will surely die awaiting a heart, liver, or lung transplant. Roughly 10% of the need is being met, so we have to ask ourselves, why aren't more people willing to become registered donors?




 * Religion and Organ Donation **

We are able to see if there is a correlation between high levels of religiosity and lack of participation in organ donation. A recent study was taken at the Zefat Academic College, Israel. A poll was taken on students who had a range of beliefs such as Christian, Islam, and Judaism. The study showed that those students that practiced and maintained their beliefs were less likely to donate their organs. The deeper the research continued it was revealed that the religion itself was not the problem in the donation process. Most religions would even consider organ donation an act of love. The confusion on where each religion stood caused the lack of participation among the religious students.

**Medical Ethics**
The questions surrounding medical ethics are a critical cause in lack of organ donor registration. Individuals are concerned about end of life care and whether or not doctors will hasten their death in order to save the life of another person. Though there have been very rare cases of this actually happening, the donor is almost always brain dead and unable to be sustained any longer by medical care. The certainty of death by harvesting organs may scare individuals, but the patients who are eligible for donating will surely die without the technologies temporarily sustaining them.




 * Young Donors**

Although college students tend to rally in support of humanitarian causes and compassionate movements, studies show college students that are registered organ donors to be at a low percentage. A study taken by the American study of transplantation showed the correlation between the factors surrounding organ donation and college students. While the polls showed a high level of verbal support when prompted to sign up as an organ donor if asked by a friend the response landed around 56%. That’s a significant decrease from the 92% that agreed becoming an organ donor can and would save lives.


 * References**

==== Khalaila R ; “Religion, altruism, knowledge and attitudes toward organ donation: a survey among a sample of Israeli college students.” Nursing Department, Zefat Academic College, Medicine and Law. March 2013. ====

**Picture References**
Ehtuish,E.F. //Understanding the Complexities of Kidney Transplant//. 2011. Surgery Department Tripoli Central Hospital & National Organ Transplantation Program, Libya. Intechopen. September 6, 2011. July 25, 2016.

Wahlberg, David, 2015. Geographic Disparities Divide Organ Transplant World. U.S. Department Health and Human Services. Wisconsin State Journal. May 10, 2015. July 25, 2016.