You must have come across the question if you are interested in becoming an organ donor while applying for driver’s license in United States. When you mark this option, authorities will get the permission to initiate the process of saving your organs if an unlikely event occurs to you. Organ donation can save a person's life--that’s why many people today prefer doing this. But there are some people who can’t donate their organs due to certain health issues or ethical issues.
Pros of Organ Donation
Organ donation pros and cons go hand in hand. Here are some pros of donating organs:
1. Life Saver
Most candidates for organ donation are managed on costly and painful treatments. The conventional organ donation costs a fortune that can put a family through misery and pain. Donors aren't aware of the importance of their organ, but their viscera can save a person's life by giving him or her another chance to live normally. And by donating organs, the donor does not just save a life but also ease the financial burden of the patient's family.
2. Offer Consolation
The grief of families is usually overwhelming if a person dies at a young age. For these families, organ donation can be a great move to heal from the sudden death of loved ones. One can have great comfort when realizing how a small organ will benefit another person's life and his family. A sense of consolation can also be felt if you donate organs to younger people who are struggling for life and needs help desperately when you die in old age.
3. Medical Research Opportunities
If one isn't in favor of donating organs to complete strangers, then he or she can also donate the organs to science. Medical students require cadavers to perform their procedures in real but less risky environment before becoming perfect doctors. Thus, the organ donation becomes a continuous gift to society and scientific research.
Watch this video-A life stories of organ receiver to learn how organ donation saves people’s life.
Cons of Organ Donation
Organ donation pros and cons are almost balanced and there are some cons as well:
1. Possible Mid and Post Surgery Complications
There are chances of complication during and after the surgery to extract organs. Complications could be too much bleeding, blood clotting or infection in the surgery area. Most of the complications are controlled by the surgeons, but in severe cases the complications can be extremely dangerous to the person who's donating his organs.
2. Financial Issues
Multiple problems can arise, when a person thinks about donating his organs; one of these problems could be a financial one. If the donor is deceased, the procedure charges of organ donation does not have to be paid by the family but if he's alive the surgery and other expenses must be accepted by him. The donor may also face loss of salary when he takes off from work for surgery. In case of complications after the surgery, there's also a probability of losing the job.
3. Religious Obligations
The decision of donating organs depends very much on the religion one follows. Most of the religions are in favor of blood and organ donations, but there are some of which don't allow it or reject it completely. For example, the Shinto religion consider donation of organs as a crime. Similarly, the Chinese are against the idea of organ donation and they believe that the body should be exactly buried after demise with all the organs completely.
4. No Right to Select Recipient
In most cases, donors don't choose the recipients of their organs, which is one of the disadvantages of organ donation because the religious belief of recipient might differ from the donor or may have different political views. This may not make the donor pleased with his decision. But everyone's life is equally important and the recipient would be thankful to the donor for life.
5. Illegal Trade of Organs
Though it is illegal in many countries, the unethical trade of human organs is widely spread globally with huge amount of money involved. Many of these rackets have been busted but many are still operating. The unbalanced ratio of required vs. available organs is responsible for the illegal trade. It is indeed a pity that due to the big money that is involved in the trade, many individuals such as prison inmates and children (who are often kidnapped for organ trade) are forced to donate their vital organs.
Should You Be an Organ Donor?
Your decision should be based on the serious comparison between risks and benefits after considering the organ donation pros and cons.
Collect the maximum information you can get and understand the donation procedure well before making any decision. You should also be assigned an independent donor advocate who will promote your medical rights.
Don't forget to ask questions throughout the process to completely understand the procedure of surgery and to know about the after-effects you may have after becoming a donor
At the end, the final decision is completely yours, so decide yourself without letting anyone interfere with it. Think how it will affect you and your life. You have the right to halt even in the middle of the extraction process if your mind changes.
Watch this video to learn more about donation and transplant: how does it work?