Addressing the organ shortage

Are you an organ donor? Probably not. Even for those of you who checked "yes" on your driver's license or have taken the time to fill out an organ donor card in the case that your organs could be used to save a life, they probably won't be.

Every year more than 6,000 Americans die waiting for an organ transplant. Over 80,000 names sit on a waiting list, hoping for a miracle, and the waiting list is growing three times as fast as the rate of organ donation. Yet America, the land of efficiency and fast food joints, business and prosperity, is unable to match organs to patients, even when there is a plethora to be had.

If you are an organ donor, your choice to give life after death can be overruled by your next of kin. Doctors customarily ask permission of surviving relatives before recovering organs from the deceased. This practice itself is detrimental to the health of the nation.

Organs are most commonly donated after a patient has been declared brain-dead. This type of death (where the heart may still be pumping) is most often the result of traumatic and unexpected injury (like a car wreck) or surgical complications. In each case, the death is often unexpected and surprising for survivors. Because of this highly emotional scenario, 40 percent of families are never asked for permission to recover organs. Of the 60 percent who are asked, only 50 percent respond affirmatively, meaning only one third of suitable organs are ever available for transplants.

If an adult has registered his or her name as an organ donor either through their DMV or an official national organ donor card, his or her wishes should be respected after death. Doctors and Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) should not face the difficult task of seeking permission for recovering organs within hours of a traumatic death. Furthermore, surviving relatives should not be burdened with deciding the fate of the deceased's organs during such an intense and irrational time.

An even more effective method of ending the organ shortage would be a system known as "presumed consent." Several European nations and Singapore have adopted this system, in which all adults are presumed to be willing organ donors unless they have opted out by officially registering their names as non-donors. A system of presumed consent could potentially triple the organ supply (as it did in Belgium) and save thousands of lives each year. In addition, patients who would otherwise wait years and spend thousands in hospital bills could receive transplants earlier, saving money and improving their quality of life.

Ending the American organ shortage also has international impacts. Men throughout India and other countries have resorted to selling their kidneys in order to earn enough money to feed their families. Because these willing donors are misinformed (or given no information at all) about the risks of live kidney donation and because the operations are performed in unsterile conditions, many of these desperate donors have died.

A student group on campus is now working with the office of Sen. Bill Frist '74, R-Tenn., to evaluate the organ shortage in the United States and to encourage federally funded investigations of what we can do to eliminate unnecessary deaths; exploring the possibilities of presumed consent and national interstate registries.

Although America is renowned for her sense of individualism, we must also realize that as Americans we have a duty to the collective whole. Every year the bodies of scientists, artists, politicians, teachers and children waste away waiting for a lifesaving transplant. Every day 16 of those bodies die. If you would like to help end the organ shortage, you can learn more at www.unos.org or join ORGANS NOW, an effort led by Emily Stirba '04 through the Princeton Justice Project and the Pace Center for Community Service. Robin Williams is a junior in the Wilson School from Greensboro, N.C. He can be reached at awilliam@princeton.edu.