| Doctors will not do everything
they can to save my life if they know I want to be a donor. |
 |
Donation can only occur after
a patient has been declared brain dead by physicians who
are not affiliated with the
transplant recovery teams. |
|
| Wealth and celebrity status
dictate who on the transplant waiting list receives an
organ first. |
|
The transplant waiting list
is completely blind to wealth or celebrity status. The
severity of illness, time spent waiting for an organ and
blood type are what matters for people waiting. |
|
| Signing the back of my driver's
license or a donor card will ensure that I will be a donor. |
|
Surviving family must give
consent before donation can take place, so it is essential
that the family know the patient's wishes. |
|
| Donation is against my religion. |
|
All major religions endorse
donation as the highest humanitarian act. Religious leaders,
including the Pope, have all publicly supported donation. |
|
| My family will have to pay extra bills.
|
|
A family of an organ and tissue
donor is never responsible for costs related to donation. |
|
| Donation will disfigure my body.
|
|
Donation takes place under
the same strict sterile conditions as any medical procedure.
A donor is treated with extreme care and the body is not
disfigured. |
|
| It is impossible to have a regular funeral service following organ donation. |
|
Donation does not interfere
with funeral arrangements. Open casket services are possible. |
|
| Organs can be bought and sold on a black market. |
|
In the U.S., law prohibits
the buying and selling of organs. The system for matching
donor organs and potential recipients is regulated by
the Federal Government. |
|
