LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: ORGAN/TISSUE DONOR AWARENESS WEEK

To the Editor,

April 17-23, 1994 is National Organ/Tissue Donor Awareness Week. During this week, we honor those families who have given the most precious gift in the world, the gift of life to others through organ and tissue donation. At this time, we also recognize the importance of organ/tissue donation and the serious shortage of organs and tissues available for transplant.

Organ/tissue transplantation is not experimental. It is a well proven, successful medical therapy which usually offers the recipient (the person who receives the transplant) a "second chance" and a good quality of life.

We all probably know someone who has benefited from a transplant. One does not plan to need an organ/tissue transplant -- it can happen to any of us, at any time. Those needing transplant must depend on the generosity of families they do not know and who have to make the decision to donate in the midst of their grief and loss. Current transplantation statistics have shown that you have a greater chance of dying while waiting for a heart or lung or liver transplant than you have of receiving one.

Although I do not deal with the transplantation aspect of organ/tissue donation, I do have the honor of working with families after the death of their loved one and offering them the option of organ/tissue donation. I am there to give them the necessary information they need to make a decision about donation and to support and facilitate whatever decision they make. Many times, the death occurs after a young person is involved in a sudden, tragic situation (such as car or motorcycle accident or suicide/homicide). Over and over, I have seen these families get back in control, get something positive from a tragedy and somehow make some sense out of their loss. As I see it, that is the best reason for donation. How else can you get anything positive from the death of someone you love? It is a way of that person living on in others and in their death providing life for as many as 8 to 10 people.

Making the decision to donate or not when faced with the death of your family member can be very difficult. It is made easier if families discuss this option before they are put into that situation. If organ/tissue donation is something you want to do, discuss this with your next of kin as they are the ones who must give permission to donate after your death.

For more information about organ/tissue donation, please contact MidAmerican Transplant Association, St. Louis, Missouri, 314-991-1661.

CHERI HUCKSTEP-REED

Patient Care Manager, SICU

Saint Francis Medical Center