For advertising information call 859.368.0778 or email [email protected] | April 2016
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April is Organ
Donor Month.
Donate Life!
Becoming an organ donor is relatively easy
By Doris Dearen Settles, Staff Writer
Each day, about 79 people receive
organ transplants. That’s the good
news. The bad news is 22 people die
each day waiting for transplants that
can’t take place because of a shortage
of donated organs. You may be the
difference in one of those people’s
lives, no matter your age or the condition of your health.
People 50 years and older were 35
percent of last year’s organ donors.
Many people over 50 mistakenly
believe they are “too old” to donate
an organ that may give someone a
second chance, and many also believe
they are too old to receive that second chance through organ donation.
Both are wrong. Consider these facts
from www.organdonor.gov:
• Anyone, regardless of age or
medical history, can sign up to
be a donor. The transplant team
will determine at an individual’s
time of death whether donation
is possible.
• Most major religions in the
United States support organ
donation and consider donation
as a final act of love and generosity.
• If you are sick or injured and
admitted to a hospital, the No.
1 priority is to save your life.
Comas are reversible; brain death
is not.
• It is possible for a living person
to donate organs or tissues. The
most common organs donated
are kidneys and lobes of the liver
or lungs. Tissues that can be
donated by a living donor include
skin, bone marrow and blood
stem cells.
• When matching donor organs
to recipients, the computerized
matching system considers issues
such as the severity of illness,
blood type, time spent waiting,
other important medical information and geographic location.
The recipient’s financial status or
race is not part of the algorithm.
• An open-casket funeral is usually
possible for organ, eye and tissue
donors. Through the entire donation process, the body is treated
with care, respect and dignity.
• There is no cost to donors or
their families for organ or tissue
donation.
• Every state provides access to a
donor registry where its residents
can indicate their donation decision.
A few diseases and conditions
rule out organ donation. If you are
HIV positive, you will not be able
to donate. If you have active cancer
in a particular organ, you cannot
donate that organ. If cancer has
spread through your body, you will
not be able to donate any organs. A
history of certain kinds of cancer,
particularly brain tumors, may allow
for organ donation depending on the
particular circumstances and how
likely it is a particular recipient may
die if the organ is not used. A history of cancer in the distant past that
is likely be cured may not rule out
organ donation.
April is Organ Donor Month, so
there’s no better time to step up and
give someone a second chance. One
person can save or improve the lives
of more than 50 people through
organ and tissue donation. The best
way to become an organ donor is to
join the Organ Donor Registry. You
can do this at the DMV when you
renew your driver’s license or online
anytime at www.Donatelifeky.org.
Tell friends and family your decision
so your wishes will be followed.