Organ Donation Concerns and Myths:
A Classroom-Based Research
Damaris-Lois Yamoah Lang
Saving lives is essential to human survival. The main goal in the health sector is focused on saving lives. Health professionals use myriad of techniques to help their patients obtain a healthy working body. The body’s physiology as a whole relies on the coherent workings of the individual organ components it’s composed of and hence a healthy body basically means healthy sets of organs. Medical scientist and doctors employ techniques such as the harvesting of human tissue via stem cell research (“Alonso, L and Fuchs, E.,” 2003), blood and organ donations (“New York Organ Donor Network,” 2014) to transform physiologically disabled bodies into functionally healthy bodies. Although blood donation via the blood drive project has remained relatively successful, organ donation on the other hand has received significant setbacks (“Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN)/ Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR)/United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS),” 2013). Reservations observed when recruiting donors are prevalent in organ donation in comparison to blood donation.
Hypothesis
The reluctance associated with organ donation is based on general and mythical concerns.
Methods
Sixty-one students who are not organ donors were selected to participate on a voluntary basis. Participants were first given adequate education on organ donation, and they in turn educated the public on the mechanics of organ donation. Finally, participants documented their views on organ donation before and after the training.
Results
The summarized reflections were categorized into general and mythical concerns. General concerns included-A general lack of interest on the subject, fear of doctors not saving individuals’ life if they were registered organ donors and whether donating organs while alive generates a disability (“Anatomy and Physiology Class,” 2012). Mythical concerns included-Religious beliefs against organ donation, dis- comfort or sensitivity about the topic associated with death and fear or discomfort about being buried with missing parts (“Anatomy and Physiology Class,” 2012).
All students participated irrespective of their decision as organ donors. Stands included: Became donors (64%), Not donors (5%), Undecided (3%) and No Comments (28%).
Participants Stand on Organ Donation
Conclusion
Participants’ concerns about organ donation were addressed. They expressed they received adequate knowledge on organ donation, which will guide them to make informed decisions and, in addition, equip them to educate members of their communities.
References
Alonso, L and Fuchs, E. (2003). Stem cells of the skin epithelium. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 100 (Suppl 1):11830–11835.
Anatomy and Physiology Class. (2012). Service-Learning on Organ Donation. Hostos Community College
New York Organ Donor Network. (2014). Organ donation facts. www.donatelifeny.org
Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN)/Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR)/United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). (2013). Organ Donation Consent Rate in the Greater New York Metropolitan Area from Deceased Donors.
http://www.donatelifeny.org/about-donation/data/#sthash.UlooeUkg.dpuf