Michael, a 36-year-old man living in metropolitan Los Angeles,
had suffered from diabetes since his teenage years. As a result,
his kidneys began to fail, and his only hope for survival
depended on receiving a kidney and pancreas transplant. But
a shortage of available human organs threatened his life.
After waiting 18 agonizing months, Michael finally received
a kidney and a pancreas from a young man who died in an automobile
accident. Although Michael is alive today, he warns that others
are not so fortunate. The donor shortage must be eliminated,
he says. "We must sweep aside the ignorance and the myths
that prevent people from donating their organs."
SERIOUS DONOR SHORTAGE
No one disputes the grim fact that demand for human organs
far outstrips supply. In fact, during the first 11 months
of 2006, only 22,000 transplants were performed nationwide;
meanwhile, nearly 95,000 Americans languished on waiting
lists, desperate for hearts, livers, kidneys, bone marrow,
and other organs. The United Network for Organ Sharing,
which coordinates a national waiting list, says 17 people
die every day due to organ shortages.
FEAR KEEPS DONORS AWAY
Fear prevents millions of Americans from donating live-saving
organs. Living donors, in contrast to those who give their
organs after they die, must subject themselves to the risks
of surgery and the pain of recovery. In addition to these
legitimate fears, several widely circulated rumors might
frighten potential donors. For example, urban myths have
popularized the notion that organ donors receive inferior
hospital care because transplant doctors want their healthy
organs. An even worse falsehood asserts that physicians
harvest transplantable organs before dying patients are
legally dead.
Although physicians acknowledge that transplant surgery
involves risks to organ donors and recipients, they insist
the benefits surpass the dangers; after all, approximately
300,000 lives have been saved by transplants. Fear of surgery,
therefore, should not stop potential donors. Likewise, unfounded
concerns about unethical medical behavior should not worry
anyone. Most hospitals prohibit transplant physicians from
treating patients, a policy that guarantees appropriate
care. Furthermore, before removing an organ from a dying
donor, many hospitals require an independent team to certify
the precise moment of death.
RELIGIOUS BARRIERS?
Ignorance about religious beliefs also affects the nation's
organ shortage. Instead of weighing competing religious
values, opponents to organ donation frequently rely solely
on well-known prohibitions against mutilating a corpse,
or on misguided beliefs that resurrection from the dead
requires an intact, whole body. Religious authorities, including
rabbis, have disputed these misunderstandings, teaching
that organ donation is not only ethical, but also praiseworthy.
THE JEWISH VIEW
Although after-death donations raise complex issues under
Jewish law, the values debate is clearer for living donors.
Jewish law commands, "Take utmost care and watch yourself
scrupulously..." (Devarim 4:9), a verse our
sages explain demands that you avoid dangerous situatons.
If you choose to become a living donor, you voluntarily
put yourself at risk and violate this value. On the other
hand, Jewish law values life above all else and obligates
you to save it whenever possible (Vayikra 19:16)--pikuah
nefesh.
