Are you going to donate your organs when you die? It’s a sensitive question, one that’s shrouded in false beliefs, myths and avoidance, and now we are paying the price. With significantly greater demand than supply for donor organs in developed countries all over the world, what is it going to take to get more people to donate?
While transplant success rates in Australia are amongst the best, we have one of the lowest organ donation rates in the developed world (Transplant Australia, n.d.). There are, at any one time, around 1700 Australian’s waiting for an organ transplant and on average, they wait between 6 months and 4 years (Organ Donation and Transplant Foundation of WA, 2011). In fact it is alarming to know that each Australian has …show more content…
Donate Life (2015) found that 20% of Australians fear that a doctor may not try as hard to save their life if they are a registered donor and this increases to 35% for young adults aged between 18 and 29 years. Hence, many people fear that instead of saving their life, the doctor’s main intention will be to remove their organs as soon as possible. However, the transplant team is entirely separate from the medical team looking after the patient and only notified after the patient is declared legally dead and the family have agreed to donation …show more content…
A recent survey found that nearly 1 in 3 Australians feared donation would leave their body mutilated and disfigured and this increases dramatically to nearly half of all young adults aged between 18 and 29 years (Donate Life, 2015). However, organ retrieval is no different from any other surgical procedure, and is performed by highly skilled health professionals. The incisions made are closed and covered and are not visible once the body has been clothed. Hence, donation doesn 't interfere with having an open-casket funeral (Donate Life,
While transplant success rates in Australia are amongst the best, we have one of the lowest organ donation rates in the developed world (Transplant Australia, n.d.). There are, at any one time, around 1700 Australian’s waiting for an organ transplant and on average, they wait between 6 months and 4 years (Organ Donation and Transplant Foundation of WA, 2011). In fact it is alarming to know that each Australian has …show more content…
Donate Life (2015) found that 20% of Australians fear that a doctor may not try as hard to save their life if they are a registered donor and this increases to 35% for young adults aged between 18 and 29 years. Hence, many people fear that instead of saving their life, the doctor’s main intention will be to remove their organs as soon as possible. However, the transplant team is entirely separate from the medical team looking after the patient and only notified after the patient is declared legally dead and the family have agreed to donation …show more content…
A recent survey found that nearly 1 in 3 Australians feared donation would leave their body mutilated and disfigured and this increases dramatically to nearly half of all young adults aged between 18 and 29 years (Donate Life, 2015). However, organ retrieval is no different from any other surgical procedure, and is performed by highly skilled health professionals. The incisions made are closed and covered and are not visible once the body has been clothed. Hence, donation doesn 't interfere with having an open-casket funeral (Donate Life,