April is National Donate Life Month. When applying or renewing your drivers license you may have been asked if you want to be an organ donor. Perhaps that’s your only familiarity with organ donation.
I have experience as a transplant registered nurse and I’ve seen numerous times how organ donation saves lives. Not only does it saves lives, but improves the quality of lives too. It’s exciting to see the patient experience a new beginning.
Common organs donated are: kidneys pancreas, liver, heart, lungs, and intestines. Organs donations are by a living donor or a non-living donor. You don’t even have to be related to donate an organ. There are thousands of people waiting for a transplant right now. Per organdonor.gov, 116,000+ people including men, women, and children were on the national transplant waiting list as of August 2017.
Organ donation is life changing for the donor and the recipient. Both will require surgery. With surgery, both donor and recipient need time to heal. The recipient has to remember the following things regarding transplants.
Transplant Key Points
- A living donor is the best option. Waiting for an organ from transplant list can take several years.
- Transplant is a major surgery.
- Transplants are not a lifetime guarantee, but can drastically improve your quality of life
- Immunosuppressant medications will need to be taken for the rest of your life.