Running head: have a heart

Have a Heart
Maria Guerrero
Rhetoric & Composition I (RWS 1301)
University of Texas at El Paso

have a heart

2
Abstract

There are not enough people registering for organ donation and that is a problem for there are
many people in need of an organ transplant that end up passing away. As a community, the
problem is that people do not have the knowledge of organ donation and come up with many
misunderstandings about the topic. This leads to an inaccurate answer as to whether one would
like to be an organ donor or not. Organ donation is not a complicated process for doctors know
exactly what they are doing with their patients. When one is declared dead, doctors consider
organ donation if they are eligible.

have a heart

3
Have a Heart

As of today approximately 121,011 people are in need of a lifesaving organ donation and
so far, only 2,553 patients received an organ donation according to the U.S Department of Health
and Human Services. Since January to April 15, 2016 there has only been 1,193 organ donors in
the United States. At this rate, it would take probably about 20 years just to get through the list of
people without adding anyone new. If more people were to agree to become an organ donor
many additional lives could be saved. More people should register to organ donation simply to
save a life for their organs could be used instead of wasted in a grave buried deep under the
ground. It is easy to do, it saves many lives, and it also benefits the donor.
It is simple to officially save a life as an organ donor by answering a yes or no question
when getting the drivers license or a permit when submitting your name, gender, and height for
a license or an ID. Many people are not aware of the pros and cons of becoming an organ donor
and that is an issue because deciding on the future of the organs in seconds notice may be
morbid. Therefore, the question to becoming an organ donor would not have an accurate answer
for the person would be unconfident and more than likely answer no. That is why more people
should be educated about organ donation to have an answer ready, yet many still ignore this
topic. It is necessary to understand how others feel about organ donation in order to explain the
facts and be sure in the decision making when the time comes. In order to donate, one should
learn about their own body and know if they are healthy enough to be able to donate organs.
What kind of diseases prevent one to donate and what kind of organs are donated the most. Learn
about the number of people that actually donate and how they feel about it and all about the
different things the doctors check for. Learn about the process the doctors go through in order to

have a heart

consider organ donation and even when a patient is considered dead. These things are necessary
to know to have an answer ready for when you are asked to donate the organs.
When becoming an organ donor, it is like becoming a hero. There are infants, children,
teens, and adults waiting desperately for a donor to survive. The most donated organs are hearts,
kidneys, liver, bones, and skin. One deceased donor can save up to eight lives and about 22
people die every day from the lack of available organs says in the list of facts of American
Transplant Foundation. The person in need of an organ transplant does not have enough time to
wait for one that needs a new heart or lungs survive for about four months according to statistics
in the Gift of Life Program. Others that are in need of kidneys or pancreas could live a few more
years, but only up to five years. Those that do not donate their organs for their religion may be
misguided because many religions are for organ donation. Most religious people want to do the
right thing and they should check if donating organs is okay. The article of Finger Lakes Donor
Recovery Network has a list of religions that permit and support organ donation. Religions like:
Catholicism, Hinduism, Judaism, and Islam permit organ donation. Pope Francis said organ
donation was a testimony of love for our neighbor when he went to a Transplant Committee
which was reported by the Independent Catholic News.
The benefits of organ donation do not only go to recipients but for donors as well. Being
an organ donor is a motivation to stay healthy for organs from a strong patient are needed. It is
beneficial for those who are against organ donation as well for being healthy could mean a
longer life. Therefore, the organs would not be donated anytime soon if one takes care. People
might worry about donating unhealthy organs, but there are few diseases and conditions that rule
out the donation. The University of Michigan Transplant Center says that if the person has HIV
positive, they cannot donate organs. If they have cancer that spread through the body already,

have a heart

they cannot donate organs. There are certain types of cancer that can still donate the organs, but
it is very rare. All donors have their blood tested for diseases and many other examinations are
taken to make sure they are in safe conditions. They also check medical history to avoid any
dangerous conditions the transplant could have. Usually people that die from an injury could still
have healthy organs for example, head injuries that only cause brain death.
There are a lot of myths about organ donation that need to be disputed. Organ donation
does not interrupt the attempt to save your life before death for the doctors priority is to save
your life first. The reason people do not want to donate their organs one day is because they think
that the doctor would ignore them and not attempt to save them from death. Others believe that
the doctors would officially declare a patient dead even before the patient is completely dead for
they want working organs to be donated. However, that is not true for they consider donation
after the brain dies and one cannot recover from brain death. There is a brain death committee
that run various tests on all areas of the brain and examination of the patient is required. When
the brain is dead, the person does not exhibit reflexes that require a brain to function. A Resource
on Transplantation and Donation by the University of Michigan Transplant Center says that
pupils do not react to light by constricting, they do not gag if a tongue depressor is placed in the
back of their throat, and there is no response to pain. All tests are performed by doctors who
specialize in the study of the brain and experts of the brain injuries. For many different reasons,
people do not want to donate their organs especially when they still have hope that maybe the
doctor made a mistake or their loved one would come back to life but that has never happened
before and it is impossible. Many prefer to bury their loved one and do a funeral where everyone
can see them dead. Therefore, they do not consider organ donation for they think that the doctors
would leave scars and leave an unrecognizable body. That is why most organ donors get

have a heart

cremated, for the people do not know that the doctors would fix the way the body looks. If the
patient donates an eye, the doctors replace the eye with an artificial eye and the clothes would
cover the rest of the scars. Organ donation does not change whether the dead one is buried or
cremated. People have their reasons to be against organ donation, but it just takes more education
on the topic.
Organ donation as a community is a problem for nobody get an education that is all about
organ donation. The schools, media, television, and the radio do not educate others about the
importance of organ donation. Many get last minute notice and do not carefully make decisions
on organ donation. Therefore, people are not registered to the possibility of saving a life that
could be living in the same community as a loved one. There are many programs that are
dedicated to pursue others to be organ donors and El Paso Texas has the University Medical
Center Foundation of El Paso which allows people to register for organ donation in belated
decision situations. The most information and education on organ donation come from hospitals
in the community the most. One may have to be an actual patient in the hospital to know about it
or be a last-minute notice to the family of the patient to decide.
Why not let a little part of the dead body still exist in somebody elses life? If one is very
healthy they could be a living donor for one can donate a little part. One could set an example for
others by becoming an organ donor. The community could start experiencing how it feels to be a
hero by donating hair. Maybe gives the opportunity to practice on the decision to make when the
time comes to answer the simple yes or no question on organ donation. The community should
have the knowledge of organ donation by having more schools, media, and television educating
people of all ages about organ donation.

have a heart

7
References

Bullock, R. H., & Goggin, M. D. (2007). The Norton Field guide to writing, with readings (4th
ed.), Developing a Research Plan (pp. 435- 444). New York: W.W. Norton &.
Finger Lakes Donor Recovery Network Religion and Organ Donation. (n.d.). Retrieved October
10, 2016, from http://www.donorrecovery.org/learn/religion-and-organ-donation/
Know the Facts | CORE | Center for Organ Recovery & Education. (2016). Retrieved October
23, 2016, from https://www.core.org/understanding-donation/know-the-facts/
TransWeb.org. A Resource on Transplantation and Donation. (n.d.). Retrieved November 02,
2016, from http://www.transweb.org/faq/q12.shtml
Understanding the Organ Transplant Waiting List - Gift of ... (n.d.). Retrieved October 24, 2016,
from http://www.donors1.org/patient/waitinglist/
U.S Department of Health and Human Services. Organ Procurement and Transplantation
Network. (n.d.). Retrieved October 19, 2016, from https://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/