When you get your driver’s license, it can be quite unnerving to be asked whether you are willing to become an organ donor or not, as it would seem like they expect a fatal accident would happen to you, and only your organs will be saved. But if you look at it from a different view, it is one way for you to do your share in saving lives. Organ donation is definitely a tricky subject, and can even be daunting, considering that the process may come with side effects. This is the reason it has become a topic for debates for quite some time now. To have our own opinion about the subject, it is best to know its pros and cons.
List of Pros of Organ Donation
1. It helps save lives.
A single donor is able to save multiple lives. Generally, recipients have to undergo treatments that are administered regularly until donors become available. These treatments can be very costly, which results in tough financial predicaments the recipients’ families will go through. But when a donor comes along and a patient recovers, it will relieve these families, emotionally and financially. Patient will not only be spared from suffering, but will also help their loved ones. Organ donation can certainly save lives.
2. It is a humanitarian act.
Organ recipients will have a second chance at life, where they will be able to return to their normal lives, sans the costly routine treatments. As for the donors, being able to donate their organs provides them a good feeling from doing humanitarian act, where they saved lives of people who are even strangers to them. For the surviving relatives of donors who are deceased, it also gives them a sense of goodness despite the loss and tragedy they have experienced.
3. It aids in medical research.
Those who have donated their organs or entire bodies have helped medical students with becoming great doctors. As you can see, this act is one gift that is thought to continue even long after their bodies has been used, as the knowledge the students gain from them will be carried on to their medical practice.
List of Cons of Organ Donation
1. It carries the possibility of transplant rejection.
In some cases, recipients live with their newly transplanted organs for weeks or months, but then find their body starting to reject them. There are also times when rejection occurs only a few minutes right after the operation. This means that organ donation does not offer short or long-term guarantees.
2. It comes with risk of surgery complications.
Like many other surgical operations, organ donation is also not without its share of risks. For example, it may lead to potential side effects, hemorrhaging, blood clots or organ or tissue damage around the area being operated. Deceased organ recipients also reported lifelong complications and health problems that led to more financial problems.
3. It means prolonged suffering for recipients.
Waiting for a donor is very stressful experience for a recipient, especially when the time separating between surviving and waiting is very slim. The very thought that he will die before any donor turns up would often exacerbate his condition. In reality, waiting for a kidney takes an average 1,219 days and for a heart, an average of 113 days.
These are just come of the pros and cons of organ donation, so before you sign up to become a donor for any reason, it is important to understand your options first. Knowing its pros and cons will greatly help.
Crystal Lombardo is a contributing editor for Vision Launch. Crystal is a seasoned writer and researcher with over 10 years of experience. She has been an editor of three popular blogs that each have had over 500,000 monthly readers.
