Opt-Out Organ Donation By: Megan Schelich

Ponder This.. "If something happens to me...I won't need (organs). If they can help someone else, it's all the better.”-Anthony Rankin Anthony is one of the many who choose to be organ donors. However, there are not enough “Anthonys” out there…our nation is in desperate need for more organs to be donated. The best way to increase the amount of organs for donations is through an opt-out system.

History/Opt-in vs. Opt-out Our nation has an opt-in system; this means those who wish to donate must register as donors. In 1968, the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act was proposed. Adopted by all states, this act was meant to make volunteering easy. The UAGA, however, has not been effective. People who agree with donation often don’t indicate they want to donate because they don’t want to face their mortality or they “never quite get around to it.”

Michigan Stadium-Seats 110,000

This is the number of people who are indefinitely waiting to receive life-changing organs.

Holkar Cricket Stadium- Seats 30,000

That is the actual number of people who received transplants in 2010.

Handball Arena-Seats 6,500

This handball stadium represents the 6,000-7,000 people who will lose their lives while waiting on life saving organ transplants in 2011.

You Still Choose Linda Fentiman, a professor who has written extensively about organ donation and bioethics, believes that an opt-out system would remain vouluntary because those who do not want their organs donated could easily register to not be donors.

Americans in Agreement Polls have repeatedly shown majority of Americans agree with organ donation (85-90%) However, only 15% of Americans have registered as organ donors. By implementing an opt-out system, the 85-90% of Americans in favor of donating would be recognized as donors. The significantly smaller percentage in disagreement could choose to opt-out.

A Look at Other Nations Singapore, New Zealand, Israel, Tunisia, Belgium, Argentina, Colombia, Italy, Spain, France, Norway, and Austria all have had success with opt-out organ donation systems. In fact, some of these European nations have the highest rates of organ procurement. On average, just 2% of people in these nations opt-out of donating.

Presumed-Consent System in Our Nation? Kind of… In twenty states in the U.S., there is presumed consent in donating certain organs, such as corneas and pituitary glands. The results? Over half a million people have regained their sight. By using this system for all organs, many would receive an even greater gift than their sight—their lives would be saved.

More Lives Saved In 1993, between 15,000 and 20,0000 people were declared brain dead. Of those, 10,000-12,000 were fit for organ donation. Only 15-20% actually became donors, however. Many organs simply went to waste. Jonathon was a happy little boy who loved to play with his dog. He tragically died a day shy of his tenth birthday while waiting for a heart transplant.

Perhaps if our nation had an opt-out system, Jonathon would have received a heart transplant and lived for many more years. Fentiman insists that an opt-out system would increase the numbers of organs donated. Don’t we owe that to Jonathon and others like him?

More Lives Saved, Ctd. There are those who are lucky enough to receive donated organs. Kelley Drastata was on the waiting list for a heart transplant. She eventually did receive one. Six months after, she completed a half-marathon. When Kelley was asked what she would say to her donor, she said she would tell her, “I know there’s a seat in heaven for you.” An opt-out system would ensure that more people would receive their transplant, just like Kelley did.

Opposing Arguments

The Best Solution An opt-out system needs to be put into action in order to save more lives. As stated by Laurie Futterman, an advanced registered nurse practitioner “Until donor organs are recognized by all of us as the pieces of human tissue that they are, waiting to be burned or buried a few days after death; and until opting out legislation has been introduced to this country, making available for transplantation all viable organs unless the deceased in his lifetime has recorded his dissent, this tragic waste of life will continue."