by Fiona Mather

Created on: December 20, 2009

If you would accept an organ to save your life then yes you should  become an organ donor. There are many people who for whatever reason are not on the organ donor register (UK) but if they suddenly became in need of an organ would undoubtedly accept one. There is some irony in this feasible possibility.

Think about the hopefully unlikely event  that you or one of your family or friends might in the future find themselves in need of an organ transplant does this start to make you question your reluctance or procrastination in the matter of putting your name on the donor register?  It shouldn't take long for you to ammend the situation.

Becoming an organ donor leaves the need for heartbreaking decisions by the donors family to be avoided as they will know of the persons wishes in advance. It is hard for doctors to ask grieving relatives if they would consider giving consent to them, the transplant team, to remove certain organs when the person they love has just been pronounced dead. 

Much anxiety can be avoided if relatives know in advance of the persons wishes and in many cases can be given great  comfort from the fact that their loved one has chosen to help another person be they a child or adult and maybe save their lives as a consequence. Also relatives could in the future be saved from the agonising realisation that they do not know what to do because these issues were never discussed during the deceased persons lifetime.

Many people have said that although their loss is immense they feel that their loved one lives on in someone else, and this brings them great comfort and peace. Occaisionally a donor's relative has met  the recipient of their mums', dads', brother or sisters' organ beit a kidney , lungs or perhaps heart and this meeting has been beneficial to both the receiver and the donors family. Maybe many people have benefited by receiving skin, bone or cornea transplants.  

Should you become an organ donor ?  If you were in any doubt  before are you still ? Please think about what could happen in the future and make plans accordingly. People would be less likely to die needlessly if there were more organ donors as patients would not have to wait as long for transplants.  Who knows it could be you or yours on that waiting list one day, God forbid.    

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