Most of us go through life never knowing what it is like to have one of our major organs break down. When we run, our hearts dutifully pump blood through our bodies. When we breathe, our lungs effortlessly expand and contract, while our livers and kidneys silently rid our systems of wastes and poisons.
But for thousands of people, even the simplest tasks are impossible because a vital organ doesn’t function properly. In order to survive, they will need new organs. But waiting lists for organs are growing, and there aren’t enough people offering to donate to supply the demand.
As hospital employees, we have heard joyful and tragic tales involving organ donation—the patient who received an organ from a living or deceased donor—and with it a second chance at life. Or the patient who waited and waited and did not receive the needed organ…or the second chance. As employees whose profession centers around saving lives, it is difficult to accept that last year 6,479 hospital patients died waiting for a lifesaving organ, or that the national donor waiting list is approaching 100,000 people.
Many of you understand the importance of organ donation, and work to educate and encourage families and patients to consider this option. While medical researchers look for ways to combat illnesses that often make transplantation necessary, as healthcare professionals we play an important role in setting an example, and leading the way toward increasing organ donations. It is a serious decision to become an organ donor. I would not ask you to consider this if my Executive Management Group and I did not lead by example:
Kevin Burbules, Chief Information Officer, is an organ donor.
Cathy Delligatti, Vice President, Patient Care Services, Nurse Executive, is an organ donor.
Gary Herbek, Chief Operating Officer, is an organ donor. A pharmacist at a previous hospital where he worked had donated a kidney to a stranger. Gary was inspired by her selflessness and caring, as were many others, and became a donor.
Susan Vogel, Executive Director, Civista Health Foundation, is an organ donor. Susan has a cousin who was gravely ill and subsequently received a kidney transplant. Today her cousin is healthy and completing her degree at Vanderbilt University.
And, I am an organ donor.
I am asking that each of you give serious consideration to becoming an organ donor. This may be done through a designation on your driver’s license or with a separate living donor card from a donor organization such as www.donatelifemaryland.org
If you are already an organ donor, or if you decide to become one, share your decision with your staff and co-workers—you can greatly influence how others view organ donation.
Best Wishes for Healthy Holidays!
Christine Stefanides, FACHE
President & Chief Executive Officer
Civista Health, Inc.
Subscribe in a reader
Over half of the 100,000 Americans on the national transplant waiting list will die before they get a transplant. Most of these deaths are needless. Americans bury or cremate about 20,000 transplantable organs every year. Over 6,000 of our neighbors suffer and die needlessly every year as a result.
There is a simple way to put a big dent in the organ shortage — give organs first to people who have agreed to donate their own organs when they die.
Giving organs first to organ donors will convince more people to register as organ donors. It will also make the organ allocation system fairer. People who aren’t willing to share the gift of life should go to the back of the waiting list as long as there is a shortage of organs.
Anyone who wants to donate their organs to others who have agreed to donate theirs can join LifeSharers. LifeSharers is a non-profit network of organ donors who agree to offer their organs first to other organ donors when they die. Membership is free at http://www.lifesharers.org or by calling 1-888-ORGAN88. There is no age limit, parents can enroll their minor children, and no one is excluded due to any pre-existing medical condition.