Organ Donation
Logan Pulido
Mr. Boberg
AP Lang- G
9 April 2008
Are You Opt-in or Opt-out? Great advances in the science of organ transplantation have made it possible for many lives to be saved from conditions that would have otherwise been considered fatal. Anyone between the ages of 18 and 60 and in good general health can be organ donors. Thanks to these scientific advances, living donors are now able to donate entire kidneys and portions of other regenerative organs such as the intestine, liver, lung, and pancreas. Full portions of these organs as well as others, such as bones, corneas, hearts, and tendons can be harvested from donors shortly after the declaration of death. Unfortunately, too few donors exist to meet the demand for these organs. Currently over 98,000 people in the United States are on the organ waiting list (Donate Life America). Even more appalling, an estimated eighteen American people die each day waiting for transplants because of the shortage of donated organs (Medline Plus). The detrimental outcome upon U.S. citizens due to low organ donation is immense compared to that of Austria, France and Spain. Austria has the shortest organ waiting list of the world’s countries, with twenty-nine donors per one million inhabitants, whereas America has six donors per one million inhabitants (Donate Life America). These severe statistics prompt the question, why is the rate of organ donation in the United States, seemingly the most medically advanced nation worldwide, so low? The answer to this serious question lies within the investigation of alternate systems to promote organ donation, thereby increasing the number of transplant recipients. The drastic shortage of organ donors in the U.S. is mainly a result of America’s opt-in system. In America, the states maintain the regulation of organ donations. Federal law requires that the donor make an affirmative statement during his or her lifetime that he or she is willing to be an organ donor (Donate
Mr. Boberg
AP Lang- G
9 April 2008
Are You Opt-in or Opt-out? Great advances in the science of organ transplantation have made it possible for many lives to be saved from conditions that would have otherwise been considered fatal. Anyone between the ages of 18 and 60 and in good general health can be organ donors. Thanks to these scientific advances, living donors are now able to donate entire kidneys and portions of other regenerative organs such as the intestine, liver, lung, and pancreas. Full portions of these organs as well as others, such as bones, corneas, hearts, and tendons can be harvested from donors shortly after the declaration of death. Unfortunately, too few donors exist to meet the demand for these organs. Currently over 98,000 people in the United States are on the organ waiting list (Donate Life America). Even more appalling, an estimated eighteen American people die each day waiting for transplants because of the shortage of donated organs (Medline Plus). The detrimental outcome upon U.S. citizens due to low organ donation is immense compared to that of Austria, France and Spain. Austria has the shortest organ waiting list of the world’s countries, with twenty-nine donors per one million inhabitants, whereas America has six donors per one million inhabitants (Donate Life America). These severe statistics prompt the question, why is the rate of organ donation in the United States, seemingly the most medically advanced nation worldwide, so low? The answer to this serious question lies within the investigation of alternate systems to promote organ donation, thereby increasing the number of transplant recipients. The drastic shortage of organ donors in the U.S. is mainly a result of America’s opt-in system. In America, the states maintain the regulation of organ donations. Federal law requires that the donor make an affirmative statement during his or her lifetime that he or she is willing to be an organ donor (Donate