Introduction
Attention grabber: Imagine being able to save lives, contribute to the advancement of technology, medicine, and science, and help reduce your carbon footprint with just one decision. One decision that can make a lasting and worthwhile impact on the world after you are gone. One decision that is free. Your decision to become an organ donor can make a difference in as many as 50 lives. There are approximately 116,000 people on the transplant waiting list. Every day 18 people die waiting for organs that could have saved their lives.
Relevance: Not only do they save lives, organ, and whole-body donations play a vital role in the advancement of science, medicine, and a host of other fields. Increased knowledge can help you make a hugely positive choice.
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Credibility: I have used multiple sources and researched books and the Internet to find the most credible sources. I have taken an Honors Physiology course in high school which informed me about the importance of donations.
Thesis: Although avoided by many people, becoming an organ or whole-body donor is very easy and can be very beneficial to the world.
Preview: First, I will discuss why people would not want to donate their organs or body. Then, I will discuss why you should consider donating your organs or body to science. Finally, I will discuss how you can become an organ/whole-body donor.
Body
Why someone would choose to avoid organ/whole-body donations? Firstly, organ donation is major surgery. According to WebMD in 2020, although you will have anesthesia during the surgery as a living donor, you can have pain while you recover and possibly long-lasting scars.
The transplantation of organs from living donors seems to violate the traditional first rule of medicine. According to The National Academies Press in 2006, organ donation involves the removal of a healthy organ from one person for implantation into another person, meaning it violates the 'above all, do no harm' rule.
Donating your body can however mean you can't have a proper funeral service. As writer Melanie McManus states, “Once you die, your body needs to be handed over pretty quickly”, meaning they can’t have a funeral with your body shortly after death, and then donate it.
Adding on, many people also mistrust doctors, hospitals, and the organ allocation system, which is a leading reason why they chose not to donate their organs/whole body to science. Knowing the correct information from credible sources can help you make the correct decision and avoid being misinformed.
Although many people choose to avoid it, organ and body donations are not only important to the lives of people, but also to the advancement of science, medicine, and a host of other fields. So, why you should consider donating your organs/whole body to science? The main reason is that registering as an organ donor can save many lives. According to the Gift of Life in Michigan, “Statistics tell us that one person can donate eight life-saving organs, as well as tissue and corneas that can drastically improve the lives of another 75 people”. You are making a difference, and it’s an easy way to make a lasting and worthwhile impact on the world after you are gone. Becoming a donor is a hugely positive choice and allows your legacy to live on through another.
Donated bodies serve greatly to the advancement of medicine. According to the United Tissue Network, “Whole-body donation contributes to a wide variety of medical advancements including surgical device development, advanced disease-based research, and hands-on bio skills training”. Cadavers provide the most realistic representation of the human anatomy, which is an ideal model to perform advanced surgical training.
There are many other feel-good reasons to donate your body to medicine. According to Charries Semidey in Business Insider in 2019, donating your body lessens your carbon footprint, since you are taking up less space in the cemetery. Corrine Bell in 2019 also states that body donations decrease the use of live animal testing.
Now that we see the many benefits organ and body donations play in our lives, I will discuss how you yourself can become a donor.
Factors you should consider when registering include age, blood type, and your medical condition.
The steps required in order to become an organ donor include the following. As soon as you are sure you meet the criteria, first, sign up on your state’s organ donor registry. Then, use your driver’s license to show you are an organ donor. When you get a new driver’s license, check “Yes, add or keep my name on the donor registry” on your application. Then, include organ donation in your advance health care directive, which will help ensure that your wishes will be known and followed. Lastly, tell others that you are an organ donor to avoid confusion or delays. Consider discussing the matter with family members, your healthcare providers, and close friends.
The steps required to become a whole-body donor include the following. If you meet the criteria, just pick a preferred organization, such as the one in Mayo Clinic, and sign the consent forms required to donate, and you will become a body donor. After your body has been donated, any unused tissue and remains will be cremated and returned to your family within four to six weeks after donation.
Conclusion
Review of the main points: First, I discussed why people would not want to donate their organs or body. Then, I discussed why you should consider donating your organs or body to science. Finally, I discussed how you can become an organ/whole-body donor.
Tie-back: In conclusion, “with 95% of people being in favor of solid organ and tissue donation and only 58% of Americans registered as organ donors, we have a long way to go with regards to education,” says Adam Bodzin, a transplant surgeon. Now, imagine the United States where more than 80% of Americans are registered organ or body donors. The advancements that would be made toward a better humanity would be infinite.
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