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Donate a lung … save a life

Blood, kidneys livers, hearts, ears, eyes, nose and face are all organs that can be donated to help someone’s life be better and normal. So why aren’t more people donating? This essay investigates why it is optional to be a donor, how it gives others another chance, and the amount of people who donate in New Zealand.

In New Zealand it is optional to donate organs. There is currently no law that allows Doctors to take healthy organs from suddenly deceased persons. In some cases this may be appropriate where there is no next of kin or consent from the deceased person as this could help save another person’s life. However it should still be optional where it is clear the wishes of the deceased person regarding the not using their organs is known.

I believe it should be compulsory to donate crucial organs as a deceased person if the wishes are not know. If it was compulsory it would mean that your healthy organs could be used and matched to someone who has a failing organ. For example Jonah Lomu was given another opportunity with his kidney transfer. If Jonah had not been given another kidney he would be still relying on dialysis for two hours a day to cleanse his body of toxins and would quite probably die.

If it was compulsory to donate organs a greater number of people could live a normal healthy life on a normal basis.

For instance Sue Kobar of Christchurch had lived her entire life with a heart murmur. Sue had annual check-ups and stayed in good health until the year 2000 when Sue fell in her Hawaii home and injured her knee. The doctor believed she may have fainted not fallen so they tested Sue’s heart. The Aortic valve had 84% restriction leaving Sue with a very high risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke.

Fortunately a donor was found and a successful transplant was completed. Sues donor was an 18 year old female from New Zealand.

“It is very hard to put into words how grateful I am to my donor family. I know that I have received the very precious gift of life and will never take that for granted. I am in excellent health today because a family agreed to support organ and tissue donation”

In New Zealand donor numbers are rising. In 2006 there were 25 donors. This number increased to 41 in 2010.

But there needs to be better ways to volunteer to become an organ donor. Just putting this on your driver’s license is not enough. An option would be to sign up to support organ and tissue donation and make people aware of this organisation through promotion on the street, on television, radio, magazines the internet and workplaces.

In summary organ donning should be compulsory to everyone as its gives others a better chance at life. Crucial organs would not be wasted but instead used as a gift, a gift no one should take for granted.