Willing Organ Donors Need to Document Wishes

[Guest guest]

Willing Organ Donors Need to Document Wishes

By Charnicia E. Huggins NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Although the majority of Americans support organ and tissue donation and are willing to become donors themselves, many have not taken the steps required to ensure that their wishes will be carried out after their death, according to the results of a new survey.

"Willingness is great," Fleming, executive director of the Coalition on Donation, told Reuters Health. "If you are willing, why not take steps to ensure your wishes are carried out?"

Such steps may involve more than signing the back of a driver's license or notifying family and friends, depending on where you live. "Unfortunately, laws that govern transplantation vary from state to state," Fleming said.

The survey, commissioned by the non-profit Coalition on Donation, an alliance of national and local organ and tissue donation education groups, was conducted late last year in 50 states across the United States.

Findings show that most of the 4,500 respondents were familiar with donation of organs such as the heart, lungs and liver, but 13 percent said they had never heard of tissue donation, including the donation of bone, skin, and eyes, prior to the survey.

Ironically, tissue transplantation is performed much more frequently than organ transplantation, Fleming said, adding that people are unaware of the option because they do not always listen carefully to their doctors.

He explained that patients undergoing treatment for gum disease, for example, may not pay attention when their dentist explains that he or she will be using ground-up bone as part of the treatment. Similarly, those who need reconstructive knee surgery may simply tune out their doctor's explanation that the ligament used to reconstruct their knee is from a cadaver.

Overall, 91 percent of respondents said they "support" or "strongly support" the donation of organs and tissues from a person who has died to someone who is alive, but only 62 percent said they were willing to donate some or all of their own organs and tissue.

Others said they had not yet decided or were reluctant and 6 percent said they did not want to have their organs and tissue donated upon their death.

Prospective donors did not always make their wishes known to those around them, however. About half of the willing donors said they had informed a family member of their decision, and a similar proportion said they had indicated their wish on their driver's license. Twenty percent said they had told a friend, while less than 10 percent said they indicated their wishes in a Living Will.

"The Schiavo case brought to the forefront the need for all parties to know your wishes," Fleming commented.

To make sure those wishes are carried out, however, donors need to be aware of their state's requirements. More than half (52 percent) of respondents said they did not know the procedures required in their state, and some of those who thought they were aware, gave the wrong requirement for their state.

In New York, for example, prospective donors should make sure their names are listed in the New York State Organ and Tissue Donor Registry in addition to notifying their family members.

In California and Texas, donors are required to sign donor cards obtained at the Department of Motor Vehicles, and carry the cards with them at all times.

Willing donors who live in Washington state, however, should list their names in the Living Legacy Registry as well as sign and carry a donor card.

In 2003, more than 25,450 organ transplants and over 900,000 tissue transplants were performed throughout the United States. Today, more than 86,000 people are awaiting transplants, and another name is added every 13 minutes, according to the Coalition's Web site.

On average, 17 people die each day from the lack of available organs.

We want to "inspire a public that is already willing to donate" to take the next step and "put it in writing and tell their families ... so that one day you may have the opportunity to save someone's life," Fleming said. April is National Donate Life Month. To find out the proper procedure for organ and tissue donation in your state, visit the Coalition on Donation's Web site at www.donatelife.net. http://story.news./news?tmpl=story & cid=594 & e=9 & u=/nm/20050404/hl_nm/organ_donors_dc