The Gift of Life 1

The Gift of Life

Imagine that today you got up at 6 am, got the kids ready for school while trying

desperately to piece yourself together, send them off on the bus as you downed the last bit of

your coffee, and then hastily headed into work. Imagine that on your way to work you were

severely injured in an automobile accident. Doctors inform your husband that they can find no

brain activity and your body is surviving only through life support. Two floors up a toddler

clings to her mother as she cries out in pain. Her liver is failing and she may not survive the wait

for a donor. In the meantime, a mother ten miles away prays that God will give her the strength

to make it one more day. Her heart is weak but her will is strong. She too may not survive the

wait. Now in the ER a seventeen year old, who was trapped in a house fire last night, is in

desperate need of skin grafting, while a freshman in college would give anything to see the sun

just once more. At the most grief stricken time in their lives, your family members must make

the decision of whether or not to donate your organs. In this time of pain, sorrow, and great

suffering, life can be renewed and a second chance may be given. It is in that second chance that

a donor’s family finds solace. The gift of life is the greatest gift any one person can give to

another. It is an act of selfless love, generosity, and hope. Though there is a lot of fear

surrounding this choice, there is no greater gift that can so deeply impact as many lives. A

donor’s legacy far exceeds their life.

Organ donation is not just an act of love. It is a necessity. Every day seventy-five people

receive an organ transplant while twenty people die waiting because there is a shortage.

Currently 110,000 people in the United States alone are waiting for organ transplants. Thousands

die each year because the organs never come. Statistics can be overwhelming so it is important

that we remember each number is a person; a spouse, child, mother, father, sister, or brother.
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They are extremely important to someone and one day may be important to you (U.S.

Department of Health & Human Services, 2011).

Before anyone can make an educated decision on whether or not to become an organ

donor, they must first understand what organ donation is as well as how the process of donating

works. Organ donation can only occur after a patient is deemed completely brain dead by a

physician. According to the Medical Dictionary, brain death means that an individual has

irreversible brain damage, which leads to the complete loss of brain function that is proven by

the absence of brain wave activity on an electroencephalogram for a specific amount of time.

The body has no vital reflexes, is unresponsive to stimuli, and absent of muscle activity. It is the

legal definition of death (2002).

The procedures used in organ donation are professional, respectful, and carried out with

great appreciation for the donor’s gift. The donor’s body is not mutilated. In fact, only six vital

organs (kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas, heart, and intestines) and five types of tissue can be

donated. Nothing is considered until every attempt has been made to save the donor’s life and

has failed. The team trying to save the donor’s life at the hospital is not the same team

responsible for transplantation. The transplant team is not involved until after the physician has

established legal death. Once a physician determines legal death of an individual, the state donor

registries for organ, tissue, and cornea donation are checked to determine if the individual gave

personal consent. If the deceased’s name is not on the registries, their legal representative

(spouse, relative, or power of attorney) is given the opportunity to authorize donation. In the

event that the donation is authorized, the transplant team is then contacted. The family provides

medical and social history of the donor so that transplant professionals can determine which
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organs can be donated to what patient on the national transplant waiting list (Donate Life

America, 2011).

There are no costs billed to a donor’s family for giving the gift of life. Any transplant

costs are the responsibility of the recipient and their insurance company. All donors are screened

for infectious diseases as well as unhealthy lifestyles such as intravenous drug abuse. Transplant

professionals try to match the age of the donor and recipient to ensure the organ will last through

out the recipient’s lifetime. Transplant professionals also try to match ethnic backgrounds to

achieve a greater success rate in preventing transplant rejections. The severity of a recipient’s

illness, their time on the waiting list, blood type, and other important medical information is also

used to determine whom an organ will go to (Donate Life America, 2011).

Donations occur in two manners, the most common is the deceased donor. However,

living donations can also be made. Many times living donations are made to relatives, spouses,

or close friends. Some individuals do not want to donate unless they are found to be a loved

one’s match. Others have never taken the time to consider donation until a loved one was in

need. Even if an individual is not found to be a loved one’s match, it is still possible for the

donor to save their life. Living donor transplantation programs offer organ exchanges. Organ

exchanges occur when two incompatible donors and recipients swap organs to achieve a suitable

match. This allows two lives to be saved that may not have time to sit on a waiting list (Mantel,

2011).

Nine times out of ten, an individual decides not to become a donor because of certain

myths they may have heard or because they lack the proper education to make an informative

decision. There are nine very common fears that prevent a potential organ donor from donating:

religious fears, fear of mutilation, fear of doctors not trying to save an individual’s life, fear of
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not being able to change your mind, fear of not being completely dead at the time of donation,

fear of organs being sold to the highest bidder, fear of being too old or too young, fear of not

being healthy enough to donate, and fear of costing their family a financial burden. It is

important that we address these fears in order to properly inform potential donors (Donate Life

America, 2011).

Many religious fears can impact organ donation (Lynch, 2009). The fear of mutilation to

the body can be interpreted through scripture. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 says: “Do you not know that

you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God

will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple” (ESV). Many fear that organ

donation will destroy their body therefore invoking God’s wrath upon them. The fear of not

rising as a whole person during the rapture can also be attributed to scripture. 1 Thessalonians

4:16 says: “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the

voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise

first” (ESV). Many people are afraid that if their bodies are not whole they will miss the rapture

and be left behind. The belief that an individual should pray for healing is found in scripture as

well. James 5:14 says: “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and

let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord” (ESV). Many people are

afraid that receiving an organ transplant shows they lack faith in God. While I will not refute

what these scriptures state, I would like to counter these scripture based beliefs with one verse.

John 15:13 says: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his

friends” (ESV).
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Many different people can interpret scriptures in many different ways. However, all

Christians are expected to help those in need. Most religious leaders view organ donation as an

act of love and a way to follow Jesus’ example. God gave us the intelligence to create advanced

technology. Through this technology organ transplantation was discovered. If Christians have the

ability to save eight lives by donating their organs, it stands to reason that God would bless their

gift. Organ donation is done professionally and respectfully. The body is preserved and an open

casket funeral can take place. There is no mutilation performed on the body during donation.

Some people believe that doctors will not work as hard to save their lives if they become

an organ donor or that they may not be quite dead when the death certificate is signed. Doctors

have a legal obligation to do everything in their power to save an individual’s life. The team

working to save your life at the hospital is not the same team who will handle the organ

transplantation. The organ transplantation team is not notified until all efforts have been

exhausted to save the individual, the individual has been pronounced completely brain dead by a

physician, and personal consent or authorization from the family has been given. The decision to

donate can be changed at any given time during the individual’s life or if not determined by

family members at the time of death (Donate Life America, 2011).

Studies show that minorities have a greater mistrust in the medical field. They have a

greater fear that their loved one will be left to die if they give permission to donate. They also

believe the allocation process is rigged in favor of social stature. Organs do not go to the highest

bidder. Federal law prohibits the sale of any body part. Celebrity status and personal income

have no barring on whom receives an organ. All candidates are placed on the national transplant

waiting list at the time of diagnosis. Age, ethnic background, severity of illness, length of time
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on the waiting list, blood type, and other relevant medical information decides which patient is

the best fit for each organ (Hansen, 2003).

There is a belief that a person can be too old or too young to donate. Concerns arise

regarding the fact that an individual has had health problems or an organ transplant themselves

and therefore cannot donate. Others believe organ donating cost money. All of these beliefs are

untrue. Anyone can become a potential donor regardless of age, sex, race, or medical history.

Even in the event that one organ may be determined unsuitable due to illness, an individual still

has five more organs, tissue, and corneas that can save or enhance lives. Organ donation is

considered a gift and no costs are billed to the donor’s family for transplant procedures. It is the

recipient’s and their insurance company’s responsibility to pay the costs concerning donation

(Donate Life America, 2011).

As with every selfless act of love, at some point someone becomes selfish and behaves

unethically. The demand for organ donation far exceeds the supply. Any parent would give their

life for their child. However, today parents are creating life to rescue their ailing son or daughter.

In cases where family members are not found to be suitable matches, parents are choosing to

have another child in the hopes that the infant with be a match for their sibling. Is it right to have

children for the strict purpose of donation? Are we not dangerously close to crossing the line of

treating children as objects? Ethicists are concerned that if the donor child is determined an

unsuitable match, parents may be tempted to abort the pregnancy and start over. It also brings to

light the fear of fetal tissue transplantation. Babies could be used as donors prior to birth and then

aborted. "Children aren't medicine for other people," declares George Annas, a professor at

Boston University's medical school. "Children are themselves” (Time Magazine, 1990). Parents
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should also consider the pain they are inflicting upon a healthy child at such a young age by

allowing them to become a donor. This goes against all parental instincts. We are taught to

protect our children at all cost not offer them up for donation. At that age, they are defenseless

and do not yet have a voice of their own. They place their trust in us to protect and guide them.

So how is it then that parents can offer their lambs to such indifference?

Life is not infinite. At some point we must all die. Yet even after you take your last

breath, you have the ability to save up to eight lives and to enhance many more. By becoming an

organ donor you can give the greatest gift of all: life. Every ten minutes the national transplant

waiting list is increased by one name; one spouse, child, mother, father, sister, or brother (U.S.

Department of Health & Human Services, 2011). The demand far exceeds the supply. Take the

time to consider the child who may never again play, the mother who wants to see her daughter

grow up, the baby who is born strictly to donate, and the father whose family can not heal his

failing heart. Consider them when deciding whether or not to give the gift of life.
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References

Donate Life America. (2011). Understanding donation. Retrieved from

http://donatelife.net/understanding-donation/

Hansen, B. (2003). Organ shortage. Retrieved from

http://internal.jefferson.kctcs.edu:2053/cqresearcher/document.php?

id=cqresrre2003022100&type=hitlist&num=2

Lynch, E. (2009). Religious beliefs can impact organ donation. Retrieved from

http://internal.jefferson.kctcs.edu:2328/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetails

Window?

displayGroupName=Viewpoints&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=OVIC&action=e&

windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE

%7CEJ3010652210&mode=view&userGroupName=kctcsjcc&jsid=9ab754d6fd082f358

eba8e15d3734d8f

Mantel, B. (2011). Organ donations. Retrieved from

http://internal.jefferson.kctcs.edu:2053/cqresearcher/document.php?

id=cqresrre2011041500&type=hitlist&num=1

Time Magazine. (1990). Ethics: creating a child to save another. Retrieved from

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,969519,00.html

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2011). Donate the gift of life. Retrieved from

http://www.organdonor.gov/whyFacts.asp