DEBUNKED: 9 FALSE BELIEFS ABOUT ORGAN DONATION AND TRANSPLANTATION
Strength, IU Health Blog
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It’s one of the leading medical issues of our time: Human donor organs are in extremely short supply, and everyone who needs a transplant doesn’t always get one.
Although organ donors contribute to the more than 28,000 life-saving transplants that happen each year, there clearly aren’t enough organs available for all of the 113,000 people currently waiting for a life-saving transplant. As a result, nearly 20 Americans die daily while waiting on the list.
Clearly, the world needs more organ donors. But the supply of donor organs is one thing. The willingness to donate is another. So, why aren’t more people willing to give the gift of life through organ donation?
Misinformation is largely to blame. Several myths about organ donation and transplantation continue to linger and confuse potential donors. In this two-part series, Indiana University Health kidney transplant specialist Tim Taber, M.D. debunks some of these pervasive myths:
Myth #1: If I agree to donate my organs, doctors won’t try to save me in an emergency.
Fact: If you’re taken to the hospital in an emergency situation, the medical team’s number one priority is to save your life. Also, the physicians who care for you in an emergency are in no way involved with the doctors responsible for removing and transplanting organs. In fact, the organ transplant team isn’t even contacted until every effort has been made to save the patient's life, death is officially declared and the patient’s family has agreed to donate their loved one’s organs.
Myth # 2: If I donate, my healthy organs will probably go to a substance abuser.
Fact: The national organ distribution system is designed to prevent donor organs from going to people who actively smoke, use alcohol or abuse illegal drugs. Candidates seeking transplant are screened thoroughly and tested at random times for substance abuse. If pre-transplant tests consistently indicate such abuse, the candidate is promptly taken off the transplant list. Donors can be assured their organs will go to sober people in need.
It’s one of the leading medical issues of our time: Human donor organs are in extremely short supply, and everyone who needs a transplant doesn’t always get one.
Although organ donors contribute to the more than 28,000 life-saving transplants that happen each year, there clearly aren’t enough organs available for all of the 113,000 people currently waiting for a life-saving transplant. As a result, nearly 20 Americans die daily while waiting on the list.
Clearly, the world needs more organ donors. But the supply of donor organs is one thing. The willingness to donate is another. So, why aren’t more people willing to give the gift of life through organ donation?
Misinformation is largely to blame. Several myths about organ donation and transplantation continue to linger and confuse potential donors. In this two-part series, Indiana University Health kidney transplant specialist Tim Taber, M.D. debunks some of these pervasive myths:
Myth #1: If I agree to donate my organs, doctors won’t try to save me in an emergency.
Fact: If you’re taken to the hospital in an emergency situation, the medical team’s number one priority is to save your life. Also, the physicians who care for you in an emergency are in no way involved with the doctors responsible for removing and transplanting organs. In fact, the organ transplant team isn’t even contacted until every effort has been made to save the patient's life, death is officially declared and the patient’s family has agreed to donate their loved one’s organs.
Myth # 2: If I donate, my healthy organs will probably go to a substance abuser.
Fact: The national organ distribution system is designed to prevent donor organs from going to people who actively smoke, use alcohol or abuse illegal drugs. Candidates seeking transplant are screened thoroughly and tested at random times for substance abuse. If pre-transplant tests consistently indicate such abuse, the candidate is promptly taken off the transplant list. Donors can be assured their organs will go to sober people in need.
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