Is American Doing Enough to Reduce the Number of Deaths of Those on the Transplant Waiting List?

Every 90 minutes someone waiting for a transplant dies. (Satel) Many others die after waiting for an organ for so long that they are too sick to recover properly after the long awaited surgery. The organ allocation system that is currently used in the United States requires that people sign up to be an organ donor or have their family make the decision for them after death; this is known as the “opt-in” system. The sad reality is that our system is leaving a gap and causing unnecessary deaths. Other countries such as Spain and France have another system that has helped bridge the gap between those waiting for transplants and those receiving them; this is known and the “presumed consent” or “opt-out” system. The United States should adopt the system of “presumed consent” to help resolve this issue. (“Team”)

Unfortunately the flawed organ allocation system effects everyone equally; young and old, male and female and every race and gender. Many families have been forever changed and wounded because of the severe shortage of organs; the Turner family is just one of many examples. “Dear Hudson, Mommy and Daddy just wanted to let you know that we still think of you every day.” writes Brooke Turner in a letter to her son, “Hudsey please always remember us and as soon as it is our time we will come to be with you until then we will keep blowing kisses to the sky for our little Hudsey.” Brooke is a mother who knows all too well the pain of saying goodbye to a loved one who died after an extended wait for a heart transplant left him too ill to recover after finally receiving an organ. Her son, Hudson, was just 5 months old when he passed away. (Turner) Every day around 18 people die due to the organ shortage. One donor can potentially save up to eight lives and enhance fifty other lives! By changing the organ allocation system to mimic the system currently in place in other countries such as Spain we can potentially save the vast majority of those dying while waiting for transplants.

Presumed consent is exactly what it sounds like: unless stated otherwise you are automatically an organ donor. This system operates the opposite way that the system we use in the United States does. Instead of having to sign up to be a donor everyone is automatically an organ donor unless they opt out and make their wishes to not be a donor known. Presumed consent eliminates the need to remember to sign up online to be a donor or fill out the back of your license. (“Team”) According to a survey recently conducted only 63% surveyed had actually remembered to sign up to be an organ donor even though 100% of the people surveyed felt that people should donate their organs. Furthermore 74.1% of the people surveyed said that they would support this system. Only two people stated that they wouldn’t agree with using presumed consent and five people chose option C which was other. It is also important to know that 4 of the 5 people who did select ‘other’ as an option acknowledged that they would agree with the system but due to health problems they wouldn’t be able to donate either way. (Gumpher)

Spain, Belgium and France are three successful examples of countries that use presumed consent. Not surprisingly, these three countries have higher rates of organ and tissue donation than the United States as a result of the presumed consent system. As of June 18, 2010 the OPTN (Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network) has 116,976 people waiting for a transplant; 76,667 of the people listed on the waiting list have been waiting for more than a year! Spain has the highest rate of transplantation in the world! Currently, Spain has been able to obtain 33.6 organs for every million people in their population! In the 1990’s Australia implemented a system similar to Spain’s Opt-Out policy and saw a huge rise in organ donation from 8.6 organs per million people to a huge 19.6 organs per million people. There has been undeniable success with this system. (Ferriman)

There are many myths surrounding organ donation. Many people believe that if the doctors know they are a donor that they will not work as hard to save them. While this is a common myth, it is not true. The doctors that would be working to save your life are not affiliated at all with the transplant team that would be responsible for taking viable organs. Another very common argument is that even if you are brain dead you could potentially wake up. It is impossible to wake up after brain death. Brain death is commonly confused with comas, which a patient can recover and wake up from, but no one who has ever been pronounced brain dead using the required criteria to be considered a donor has ever woken up. Also the transplant team is not even consulted until a person has already been pronounced brain dead; in other words after all other live saving methods have been exhausted. Doctors will not take organs that you have not consented to give, your family will not be responsible for any costs associated with the transplant, it does not affect the possibility of having an open casket funeral and no one with viable organs is too old or young to donate. (“Team”)

The potential to save innocent lives rests in our hands. By changing the current allocation system from the opt-in policy to the opt-out policy we can raise the rate of donation to a percent that could conceivably bridge the gap between the number of people on the waiting list and the number of available organs entirely. This is the simplest solution that generates the least amount of opposition since everyone still gets to make their own choice in the matter. With all of the supportive information given there is sufficient proof that adopting this policy will save the lives of thousands every year and as such we should adopt this program in the United States.