Myths about Organ Donation

According to a recent article by the BBC more needs to be done to reassure donors, according to a website survey of 5,000 people done by The NHS Blood and Transplant.

Fear that doctors will not make every effort to save their life tops the list of reasons stopping people becoming organ donors. But according to UK Transplant

"The doctors looking after a patient have to make every possible effort to save the patient's life. That is their first duty. If, despite their efforts, the patient dies, organ and tissue donation can then be considered and a completely different team of donation and transplant specialists would be called in."

Other myths included people being worried about what happens to their body after they die. Again UK Transplant approach this by saying

"Organs and tissue are always removed with the greatest of care and respect for the person. This takes place in a normal operating theatre under the usual conditions. Afterwards the surgical incision is carefully closed and covered by a dressing in the normal way. "

And one in five said they did not want to register as an organ donor as they did not like to think about death. As I said in my previous post about meeting with Jess To all those people who haven’t signed the Organ Donor Register because they don’t want to think about death and dying, you should look at Jess , Everyday she has to face the fact that without a transplant she will die so surely you could think about your own mortality for 2 minutes while you sign the register.

Dr Paul Murphy, an intensive care consultant in Leeds and NHS Blood and Transplants national clinical lead for organ donation, said discussions on issues around death and donation needed to be more open. To read the full article click here.

This survey/article proves that more education and discussion is needed on the subject of organ donation, it is still a somewhat taboo subject but it shouldn't be. People need reassurance their questions about Organ Donation answered so they can then make an informed decision about whether to not sign up or sign up (hopefully the latter).

For more information about Organ Donation and Transplantation, visit the "Your questions answered" section of the UK Transplant website here.