National Donor Day 2022 - Learn How You Can Contribute On This Day
National Donor Day is observed annually on February 14th. The day of observance is wholly dedicated to spreading awareness and educating people about organ donation, eye donation, and tissue donation. It is by education and spreading awareness we all can move forward, save, and heal more and more lives. At the same time, we can also honor the legacy of the donors, their generous contributions, and their compassion.
National Donor Day 2022 is the right time to focus on organs, tissues, skin, eyes, blood and platelets, and even bone marrow donations. We all come together on this day to recognize and honor those who have either given or received the "gift of life" through various donations. The day also honors people and families who are currently waiting to receive life saving transplants and those who have died waiting for these lifesaving organs because they were not donated well in time.
Correcting People's Common Myths Of Saying No To Organ Donation
This National Donor Day 2022, we are here to break some myths about why people say no to organ donation.
I have never really given it a thought.
If you think about thousands of people who are currently waiting to receive transplants, your organ donations can actually help keep someone alive. You will end up saving at least one life dying from organ failure.
I don't intend on supporting the consequences of somebody's negative lifestyle.
Here's the real truth - Only approximately 5% of people waiting for an organ transplant are substance abusers.
I have a disease/diabetes. I don't think I could donate my organs.
You can donate any and all of your organs, even if you have a disease or diabetes. Often, organ recipients have later become organ donors themselves.
Signing up would be time-consuming.
It is straightforward to register online and takes much less time than you think. Think about it, if you were dying of organ failure, wouldn't you and your loved ones appreciate someone making time for you? Even just a minute of their lives?
I can't do it; I am too old.
You are never too old or too sick to save someone's life by donating your organs.
Significance of National Donor Day 2022
National Donor Day 2022 is a day of significance for everyone around the world. Here's why:
Promoting a different form of love
National Donor Day 2022 is the perfect time for Americans to display and promote a different kind of love for people who are waiting for organ donations. This is the day when people are encouraged to come together and help other organ transplant recipients by joining various registries.
Organ donors can save as many as eight lives and heal over 75 lives with their generosity. It is a fantastic way to promote your love with others worldwide.
It offers you control over your final wishes.
When you join the organ donation registry, you declare your intentions to donate your precious organs right after you die. Most people around you might not understand why organ donation is so important. Once you decide to register yourself on one of these registries, you must discuss with your family members to ensure your last wishes are honored. It is wise to put such significant wishes for your family in writing, to instruct your next of kin to provide the necessary documentation and information on your medical as well as social history.
It offers you the opportunity to replace myths with accurate information.
Millions of people are awaiting transplants today than there were in the past years. Unfortunately, multiple misconceptions surround the topic, especially about becoming an organ donor. Therefore, it is extremely important to get your facts right.
For example, some people believe that physical defects and illnesses can keep you from being an organ donor. However, it is false. There are also people who think that physicians might not try as hard to save your life if they come to know about your "intentions" of being an organ donor. Being an organ donor definitely does not discount a doctor's priority - to save lives!
Things to know about organ donation while you are alive
Here are a few things you should know about organ donation this National Donor Day 2022:
Organs you can donate while you are alive.
This National Donor Day 2022, know the organs you can donate while you are alive:
1. One of your kidneys. It is one of the most common organs to be donated. A person can live with just one kidney dispensing waste from their body.
2. One of your liver lobes. The cells in your liver lobes can refresh and grow again until your liver comes back to its original state and size. This can happen in a pretty short time for the recipient as well as the donor.
3. Lung or a part of your lungs, a part of your intestines, and a part of your pancreas. These organs will not regrow like your liver. However, the portion you will donate and the portion that remains in your body will function at the same capacity as before.
Tissues you can donate while you are alive.
You can easily donate:
1. Your skin after certain surgeries like a tummy tuck.
2. Your bones, after getting a knee or a hip replacement surgery.
3. A few healthy cells from your bone marrow or your umbilical cord.
4. Amnion, which can be easily donated after childbirth.
5. Blood, both RBCs, and WBCs, along with platelets.
You can easily donate blood as well as bone marrow multiple times during your lifetime. They can multiply and reproduce again. Your body will replace them once you donate.
Who can donate organs?
Everyone is a great organ donor. Everyone can donate their eyes or tissues. Their age, gender, ethnicity, religion, or health does not matter at all! In fact, your age doesn't matter as well. You can donate at any age, as long as your organs are healthy. People have donated their organs after they turned 70!
Donation After Life
For organ donation, it does not matter when you die. You can still donate organs or a part of your organs to people in dire need. You can improve the world, make it a better place and save multiple lives.
How can you register to be a donor after life?
You must first decide whether you want to donate your eyes, organs, and tissues or not. The next step would be to register yourself as an organ donor in your state and country. Signing up does not mean you are legally bound to donate your organs after you die. It just means you are simply taking a pledge. Your next of kin will decide whether they want to continue with your wishes or not.
Therefore, the registration process will take place multiple years before your donation is possible. However, it is the first step you take to save lives.
When is organ donation possible after death?
Organ donation after death is possible once you are tested for brain death. Healthcare professionals will run tests to find out if someone is brain dead or not. Patients that are brain dead do not have any brain activity. They can also neither breathe nor recover on their own.
Doctors, upon testing, will confirm brain death and will note the time of death. After this, your organ donation process shall be possible.
The Organ Procurement Organization
If you die or are nearing death, your healthcare provider/hospital will inform the local Organ Procurement Organization and follow all federal rules. The hospital will inform the OPO about the conditions, which will be examined to understand if you are a possible donor or not.
If you happen to be one, OPO will travel to the hospital. OPO will need your legal consent to procure your organs for donation. Therefore, your state's registry will be put under review. If you are a part of the registry, that will be considered your legal consent to donate organs. OPO may also ask your closest blood relative for approvals.
Once the approval is received, OPO will do a medical evaluation. This will be an evaluation of your entire medical as well as social history. Your family shall receive this.
What will happen to the organs that are donated?
Healthcare professionals will keep your organs on life support if needed. Artificial support will be required to keep oxygen levels intact in your body. Therefore, your medical team and OPO will constantly check every organ's condition.
Transplant surgical teams will then replace the medical teams who treated the donors before they died. Your medical team, as well as your transplant surgical team, will never be the same.
Surgical teams will remove the donor's tissues and organs. They will also remove the organs and other approved tissues like your bones, cornea, and skin. All cuts shall be closed. Remember, organ donations will not prevent an open casket funeral ceremony from happening!
It should also be noted that organs will only stay healthy for a short period after removal from the human body. It is only a matter of minutes! OPO officials will therefore plan a speedy move for your organs. The organs will then move to hospitals where patients who require them are present. Organs can go through different routes - ambulances, commercial airplanes, road vehicles, or even helicopters!
Final Words:
A donor can save and enhance the lives of as many as 75 people at one time. Make a difference in someone's life this National Donor Day 2022. You don't know how big of a blessing you could be to someone's world.
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