Organ Donation: Questions & Myths Discussed

On Friday, August 31, 2012, WITF-FM (Harrisburg, PA) broadcast a Radio Smart Talk program 50 minutes long, entitled What questions do you have about organ donation? 

The initial guest of host Scott Lamar was John Green, Director of Community Relations for the Gift of Life Donor Program, of Philadelphia, PA.  He first focused on questions and myths regarding organ donation.

For example, a study released earlier this year found that about a quarter of the respondents believed doctors wouldn’t try to save the life of someone designated as a donor.

Others thought that they couldn’t donate because they have a history of illness or that they were too old to donate.

About 80,000 people across the country are awaiting organ transplants. Some will die while they’re still waiting.

Later in the program, personal experiences were shared by a Middletown man who received a transplanted kidney, and by another Pennsylvanian whose son awaits a suitable liver transplant.

WITF's web page devoted to this particular program lists the following useful resources on the topic:

• Organ Tissue Donation Awareness Education Project - Intermediate Unit 13 (717-606-1795)
• Center for Organ Recovery and Education, of Western PA (800-366-6777 or 412-963-3550)
• Gift of Life Donor Program, of Eastern PA (800-366-6771)
• United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) (888-894-6361)
• Health Resources and Services Administration, Division of Transplantation (301-443-7577)
• Department of Health and Human Services, Organ Donation
• National Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program (800-393-2839)
• National Coalition on Donation (804-782-4920)
• National Marrow Donor Program (800-627-7692)
• Donate Life-PA

Other resources are listed on the website of the Gift of Life Donor Program.

Title 20 (the Probate, Estates & Fiduciaries Code) of Pennsylvania statutes, authorizes organ donation upon consent or direction pursuant to unique provisions not parallel to, but similar in outcome to, the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act.

Many medical and humanitarian organizations actively promote organ donation here; and most religions sanction it under certain circumstances. See: PA EE&F Law Blog postings Organ Donation in Pennsylvania (06/14/07), Uniform Anatomical Gift Act in PA Someday? (06/20/07), and Religious Views on Organ Donation (09/11/08).

A need always exists.  Successful transplants renew other lives.  Listen to the program to find out why and how.

I am both a transplant recipient and a designated donor, so I support this movement.  To learn more about organ donation in a pleasant, informative conversation, listen to the program through an online link.