organ donation essay in english

Essay on Organ Donation for Students and Children

500+ words essay on organ donation.

Essay on Organ Donation – Organ donation is a process in which a person willingly donates an organ of his body to another person. Furthermore, it is the process of allowing the removal of one’s organ for its transplanting in another person. Moreover, organ donation can legally take place by the consent of the donor when he is alive. Also, organ donation can also take place by the assent of the next of kin of a dead person. There has been a significant increase in organ donations due to the advancement of medical science.

Organ Donation in Different Countries

First of all, India follows the opt-in system regarding organ donation. Furthermore, any person wishing to donate an organ must fill a compulsory form. Most noteworthy, this form is available on the website of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Government of India. Also, The Transplantation of Human Organs Act 1994, controls organ donation in India.

The need for organ donation in the United States is growing at a considerable rate. Furthermore, there has also been a significant rise in the number of organ donors in the United States. Most noteworthy, organ donation in the United States takes place only by the consent of the donor or their family. Nevertheless, plenty of organizations are pushing for opt-out organ donation

Within the European Union, the regulation of organ donation takes place by the member states. Furthermore, many European countries have some form of an opt-out system. Moreover, the most prominent opt-out systems are in Austria, Spain, and Belgium. In England, no consent is presumed and organ donation is a voluntary process.

Argentina is a country that has plenty of awareness regarding organ donation. Most noteworthy, the congress of Argentina introduced an opt-out organ donation policy. Moreover, this means that every person over 18 years of age will be a donor unless they or their family state their negative. However, in 2018, another law was passed by congress. Under the new law, the family requirement was removed. Consequently, this means that the organ donor is the only person who can state their negative.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Benefits of Organ Donation

First of all, organ donation is very helpful for the grieving process. Furthermore, many donor families take relief and consolation due to organ donation. This is because they understand that their loved one has helped save the life of other people. Most noteworthy, a single donor can save up to eight lives.

Organ donation can also improve the quality of life of many people. An eye transplant could mean the ability to see again for a blind person. Similarly, donating organs could mean removing the depression and pain of others. Most noteworthy, organ donation could also remove the dependency on costly routine treatments.

Organ donation is significantly beneficial for medical science research. Donated organs offer an excellent tool for conducting scientific researches and experiments. Furthermore, many medical students can greatly benefit from these organs. Most noteworthy, beneficial medical discoveries could result due to organ donation. Organ donation would also contribute to the field of Biotechnology.

To sum it up, organ donation is a noble deed. Furthermore, it shows the contribution of an individual even after death. Most noteworthy, organ donation can save plenty of lives. Extensive awareness regarding organ donation must certainly be spread among the people.

Customize your course in 30 seconds

Which class are you in.

• Travelling Essay
• Picnic Essay
• Our Country Essay
• My Parents Essay
• Essay on Favourite Personality
• Essay on Memorable Day of My Life
• Essay on Knowledge is Power
• Essay on Gurpurab
• Essay on My Favourite Season
• Essay on Types of Sports

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Download the App

• Skip to main content
• Skip to secondary menu
• Skip to primary sidebar
• Skip to footer

A Plus Topper

Improve your Grades

Essay on Organ Donation | Organ Donation Essay for Students and Children in English

February 14, 2024 by Prasanna

Essay on organ donation : Organ donation is an extremely noble and honorable act that benefits society in many ways. It involves removing organs or tissues from a usually dead body and transplanting it to a different body.

Organ donation can be either done by a dead person, provided his family members give consent. It can also be done when a person signs a form for donating his organs once he dies. In this article, we have provided an expanded essay and a brief essay along with ten lines on the topic, to help children write these essays in their examinations.

You can read more  Essay Writing  about articles, events, people, sports, technology many more.

Long and Short Essays on Organ Donation for Students and Kids

Given below is one Long essay on Organ Donation of 500 words and one precise essay of around 100-150 words on organ donation, in English.

Long Essay on Organ Donation in English 500 words

Organ Donation essay is usually given to classes 7, 8, 9, and 10.

Organ donation is defined as the removal of organs from a body and transplanting it to a new body, by surgical means. Organ donation happens in a lot of ways. Unless it is consensual, it is not legal.

The requirement for new organs usually arises when a person loses an organ to some accident or stops functioning. For example, patients with acute liver cirrhosis may require a liver transplant. A liver transplant is usually done by removing a small part of the liver from a healthy person’s body and transplanting it.

Likewise, organs like the retina of the eye, and kidneys can be donated. These organs remain functional for a few hours after removing them from the patient’s body. In the case of a heart transplant, it must be done immediately after removing it from the dead person’s body. However, a heart transplant can be done only when the donor is declared brain dead by doctors.

Organ transplant dramatically depends on the availability of human organs. Organ transplantation is the only way of saving the lives of patients who have had terminal organ failure. Patients with two dysfunctional kidneys cannot live, so kidney transplant is necessary to keep them.

Due to the vast disparity between the availability of and demand for organs, few patients are lucky enough to get organ transplantation, at the right time. Organ donation follows a very detailed procedure.

Firstly, a person can sign up and register for donating his organs. In this case, a person voluntarily consents to donate his organs after his death. After he passes away, the doctors remove the eyes and other organs that can be preserved from his body and stores them. These donated organs are used to help patients in need of organ transplantation.

Secondly, if a person is declared brain dead by doctors, his family members can officially consent to donate his organs. Such cases usually happen when a patient is desperately in need of an organ, and delay can be fatal.

Professionals must do organ transplants because it is a surgical procedure. An organ transplant is also a touchy topic and must be done intricately. There are different kinds of organ donations. Autograft refers the transplantation of tissues from one site to another site. The skin of legs is often removed to end a damaged area of another part of the body.

Isograft refers to the transplantation of organs between genetically identical individuals. This is a safer process because it runs no risk of the immune response, which leads to rejection.

While transplanting as an organ, it is essential to know whether the organ matches the patient’s blood group and body. On several occasions, it has been seen that organ transplant has failed because the patient’s body has been unable to accept the organ from the donor. Organ transplantation is a delicate issue but can save the lives of many people. It is an extremely excellent way of serving society. Our deeds live on after we die, and this is a way to ensure that people will remember us for our contributions.

Short Essay on Organ Donation in English 150 words

Organ Donation essay is usually given to classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Like all other surgeries, organ transplant also involves numerous risks. It is indeed an excellent way of curing terminal diseases, but it comes with a price. To start with, the donor’s organ may not match that of the recipient, thus causing complete failure. The blood group and their blood factors must match to have a successful transplant.

Despite a successful operation, post-surgical complications may develop, causing various immunity-related disorders. This mainly happens when the tissues do not match and cases infection. The body treats the transplanted organ as a foreign substance and creates antibodies to fight against it. Thus, the process involves a lot of risk factors.

10 Lines on Essay on Organ Donation in English

• Organ donation is an extremely advanced and exceptional way of curing fatal diseases.
• It happens by removing a part of an organ from the donor’s body and transplanting it to the recipient’s body.
• Among the various risks involved in organ transplantation, the immune response is the most dangerous one.
• If the organ of the donor does not match with that of the recipient, the recipient’s body will start creating antibodies to counter the organ, which the body will view as an alien object.
• This gives rise to immunity-related disorders and can even result in death.
• Even after death, some organs of the body can be preserved and stored. If these organs are donated, it might save somebody else’s life.
• The rates of organ donation have significantly increased due to the number of successful cases.
• However, organ smuggling is a serious crime and is dangerous for society.
• Sometimes, the organs removed for donation may be smuggled by unscrupulous people who do heinous crimes for money.
• We must understand the necessity behind organ donation and support it.

Frequently Asked Questions on Essay on Organ Donation

Question 1. What is organ smuggling?

Answer: Criminals often smuggle organs for monetary purposes. This is illegal and has grave consequences.

Question 2. What is a liver transplant?

Answer: Liver transplant includes removing an area of the donor’s liver, deceased or Live, and transplanting it to the body of the recipient.

Question 3. Can kidneys be donated?

Answer: Yes, kidneys can be donated. People can function with one kidney. For patients whose both the kidneys have become dysfunctional, kidney transplant becomes unavoidable.

Question 4. Can the donor run any risk in case of organ donation?

Answer: Usually, in the case of live donors, they are not severely affected, but at times, their lifespan can become shorter due to the removal of a part of the organ.

• Picture Dictionary
• English Speech
• English Slogans
• English Letter Writing
• English Essay Writing
• English Textbook Answers
• Types of Certificates
• ICSE Solutions
• Selina ICSE Solutions
• ML Aggarwal Solutions
• HSSLive Plus One
• HSSLive Plus Two
• Kerala SSLC
• Distance Education

Presentations made painless

• Get Premium

117 Organ Donation Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

Organ donation is a crucial and life-saving practice that can have a profound impact on the lives of individuals in need of organ transplants. However, many people are still hesitant to become organ donors due to various reasons such as lack of awareness, misconceptions, or personal beliefs. To address this issue and encourage more people to consider becoming organ donors, it is important to raise awareness about the benefits of organ donation and dispel any myths or misconceptions surrounding the topic.

To help facilitate discussions and promote awareness about organ donation, here are 117 organ donation essay topic ideas and examples that can serve as inspiration for students, writers, and advocates:

• The importance of organ donation in saving lives
• The process of organ donation and transplantation
• Myths and misconceptions about organ donation
• Religious perspectives on organ donation
• Ethical considerations in organ donation
• The impact of organ donation on the healthcare system
• Organ donation policies and regulations
• Organ donation in minority communities
• Organ donation in the LGBTQ+ community
• Organ donation and social justice
• Organ donation and mental health
• Organ donation and organ trafficking
• Organ donation and the black market
• Organ donation and medical tourism
• Organ donation and the role of media
• Organ donation and public education campaigns
• Organ donation and celebrity endorsements
• Organ donation and the role of healthcare providers
• Organ donation and cultural beliefs
• Organ donation and family dynamics
• Organ donation and the grieving process
• Organ donation and the donor registry
• Organ donation and organ allocation
• Organ donation and organ matching
• Organ donation and organ rejection
• Organ donation and organ preservation
• Organ donation and organ procurement
• Organ donation and organ storage
• Organ donation and organ transplantation success rates
• Organ donation and organ waitlists
• Organ donation and organ shortage
• Organ donation and organ trafficking laws
• Organ donation and organ trafficking prevention
• Organ donation and organ trafficking statistics
• Organ donation and organ trafficking victims
• Organ donation and organ trafficking organizations
• Organ donation and organ trafficking awareness campaigns
• Organ donation and organ trafficking survivor stories
• Organ donation and organ trafficking documentaries
• Organ donation and organ trafficking movies
• Organ donation and organ trafficking books
• Organ donation and organ trafficking research
• Organ donation and organ trafficking advocacy
• Organ donation and organ trafficking support groups
• Organ donation and organ trafficking fundraising
• Organ donation and organ trafficking volunteer opportunities
• Organ donation and organ trafficking partnerships
• Organ donation and organ trafficking collaborations
• Organ donation and organ trafficking initiatives
• Organ donation and organ trafficking events
• Organ donation and organ trafficking conferences
• Organ donation and organ trafficking workshops
• Organ donation and organ trafficking seminars
• Organ donation and organ trafficking webinars
• Organ donation and organ trafficking symposiums
• Organ donation and organ trafficking forums
• Organ donation and organ trafficking roundtables
• Organ donation and organ trafficking panels
• Organ donation and organ trafficking discussions
• Organ donation and organ trafficking debates
• Organ donation and organ trafficking dialogues
• Organ donation and organ trafficking interviews
• Organ donation and organ trafficking Q&A sessions
• Organ donation and organ trafficking surveys
• Organ donation and organ trafficking polls
• Organ donation and organ trafficking feedback
• Organ donation and organ trafficking testimonials
• Organ donation and organ trafficking success stories
• Organ donation and organ trafficking challenges
• Organ donation and organ trafficking obstacles
• Organ donation and organ trafficking setbacks
• Organ donation and organ trafficking failures
• Organ donation and organ trafficking lessons learned
• Organ donation and organ trafficking best practices
• Organ donation and organ trafficking tips
• Organ donation and organ trafficking strategies
• Organ donation and organ trafficking tactics
• Organ donation and organ trafficking tools
• Organ donation and organ trafficking resources
• Organ donation and organ trafficking guidelines
• Organ donation and organ trafficking policies
• Organ donation and organ trafficking procedures
• Organ donation and organ trafficking protocols
• Organ donation and organ trafficking standards
• Organ donation and organ trafficking regulations
• Organ donation and organ trafficking compliance
• Organ donation and organ trafficking enforcement
• Organ donation and organ trafficking monitoring
• Organ donation and organ trafficking evaluation
• Organ donation and organ trafficking assessment
• Organ donation and organ trafficking measurement
• Organ donation and organ trafficking analysis
• Organ donation and organ trafficking reporting
• Organ donation and organ trafficking tracking
• Organ donation and organ trafficking documentation
• Organ donation and organ trafficking records
• Organ donation and organ trafficking data
• Organ donation and organ trafficking trends
• Organ donation and organ trafficking forecasts
• Organ donation and organ trafficking projections
• Organ donation and organ trafficking models
• Organ donation and organ trafficking simulations
• Organ donation and organ trafficking experiments
• Organ donation and organ trafficking tests
• Organ donation and organ trafficking trials
• Organ donation and organ trafficking studies
• Organ donation and organ trafficking investigations
• Organ donation and organ trafficking inquiries
• Organ donation and organ trafficking assessments
• Organ donation and organ trafficking evaluations
• Organ donation and organ trafficking analyses
• Organ donation and organ trafficking reports
• Organ donation and organ trafficking recommendations

By exploring these organ donation essay topic ideas and examples, individuals can gain a deeper understanding of the importance of organ donation and the impact it can have on the lives of those in need. Through education, advocacy, and awareness, we can work together to promote organ donation and save lives.

Want to research companies faster?

Instantly access industry insights

Let PitchGrade do this for me

Leverage powerful AI research capabilities

We will create your text and designs for you. Sit back and relax while we do the work.

Explore More Content

• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Service

© 2024 Pitchgrade

After assessing the lungs of a deceased patient, the thoracic surgeon Thomas Charrier (second from right) gives the green light for transplantation to his colleagues on the phone at the Foch hospital in Suresnes, Paris. This and all photos below taken on 9 December 2022 by Christophe Archambault/AFP. Courtesy Getty Images

Last hours of an organ donor

In the liminal time when the brain is dead but organs are kept alive, there is an urgent tenderness to medical care.

by Ronald W Dworkin   + BIO

My patient was dead before I even saw her. She had been in a car accident. Now she was scheduled for organ donation.

She was called an ‘ASA 6’. To estimate operative risk, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) has a classification system built around how sick a patient is, ranging from a healthy ASA 1 to a moribund ASA 5, the latter meaning someone is not expected to live 24 hours. When the system was created in the mid-20th century, a sixth class for dead people seemed pointless. Death was known to the dead only, and life to the living only, and between the two there had been no bridge. When the definition of death changed in the late 1960s, making it possible for a person to be ‘brain dead’ but with organs still very much alive and available for donation, a bridge appeared and a sixth class was created in the early 1980s. Since 1988, when officials started collecting organ transplant data, almost a million organ transplants have been performed in the United States. Most of the organs have come from brain-dead donors. In 2021 alone, the US had almost 10,000 such donors.

When told of my upcoming case, I had mixed feelings. On the one hand, being in perfect health, unaccustomed to suffering and therefore easily disconcerted by the thought of death, I was horrified. My attitude toward death was like that of a young person standing blindfolded and tied to a post, awaiting a volley from a firing squad. The whole concept made my blood run cold. Yet the case also aroused in me a feeling of relief. Simply put, there was no risk of malpractice, as my patient was already dead. Many anaesthesiologists have such self-centred thoughts when taking care of ASA 6 patients.

I n her early 30s, she had a youthful face, without the traces of severe illness that ICU patients typically have. With her hair wrapped inside a bright, polka-dotted kerchief, she gave off an expression of almost pleasant, good-humoured cheeriness.

Who was this young person whose life had been tragically snuffed out? I jabbed into every crack of her medical record to find out. But little had been written down. Both her life and death seemed simple enough to be chronicled in a few lines. Something had happened inside her brain with the car accident, and the end came.

We wheeled her toward the operating room. Before departing, I pulled the sheet over her exposed feet. Why? I had an objection to her being dead, but I had an even more serious objection to her being undignified. With my patient still partly in the world of the living, I wanted to keep a place for her in the part that pretends to be genteel.

Six hours she had been officially dead. Now she had re-entered the world of the living

When we arrived in the operating room, something turned over inside me, sank, and went cold. After all, she was dead. The day before, she was as whole as me – and now look. She would never rise again.

After we moved her from the gurney to the operating table, the doctors and nurses, so used to taking care of living patients, stared at one another stupidly, as if not knowing why they had come together or why they stood around the table. For a brief moment, each one of us likely had the same supernatural vision, how for the past six hours, after being declared brain dead, this woman had lain under the measureless power of death. Six hours she had been officially dead. Six times had the hour hand on the clock moved – and she had lain dead. Now she had re-entered the world of the living. I would support her blood pressure and pulse. I would make her blood bright red with oxygen. Indeed, she might even wake up and look at us, I fantasised. She might be raised from the dead.

In a race against time, Thomas Charrier checks a monitor during the operation to remove the donor’s lungs

Ghoulish thinking, yet I do not write about this case to be ghoulish. Nor am I trying to stake out a new position in the bioethics debate. My purpose is more practical. Today, artificial intelligence (AI) looms over medical practice. Although unlikely to replace doctors completely, AI makes some medical activities especially ripe targets for takeover, including the harvesting of organs from brain-dead donors. And why not? Bedside manner and the common touch cease to be concerns. Using AI machines rather than doctors to harvest organs also promises to save money.

Yet this impersonal, nonhuman method of organ retrieval may discourage people from becoming organ donors , or from letting dead relatives become so, thereby exacerbating the current organ shortage. People will see pictures of organ retrieval being carried on all around by inanimate machinery in a room completely abandoned by human beings. Bodies will be brought in and sent out, while the invisible, sleepless work of the machines goes on. ‘Please, tell me this is not my end,’ people will fret privately. And they will resist consenting to organ donation.

O rgan retrieval can take place at odd hours because the time between retrieval and transplantation must be minimised. A donor heart or lungs can last only four to six hours outside the body. A kidney, liver or pancreas can last a bit longer. Because donation and transplantation must be synched perfectly, surgical teams must be allowed to work at any hour of the day.

Although donors are dead, managing their anaesthesia can be tricky. To keep their organs healthy, their physiology must be carefully attended to, yet brain death affects each organ system differently. High intracranial pressure can lead to an enormous outpouring of adrenaline, which can injure the heart and other organs as circulation fails. Brain death can cause pulmonary oedema (fluid in the lungs), making it hard to oxygenate the blood, thereby damaging the organs by a second route. Brain death also wreaks havoc on the body’s endocrine system, causing vital hormone levels to fall and damaging organs by a third route.

My patient lay stretched out on the table. The room was silent, as I had not yet placed any vital sign monitors on her body. It was a sinister silence. The monitors typically emit sounds that resemble the unconcerned twitter of birds. In an operating room, they symbolise life. Their absence suggests that a patient is not alive. In fact, mine wasn’t.

Nature will never permit anyone to know the exact point where brain death becomes real death

Ready to cut, the surgeon spoke through his headphones to surgeons in other cities waiting for the organs. The rest of us said nothing as he gave them an estimated time of arrival. The team had a real need for a stout word in these last few moments before the operation began. Sensing the mood, the surgeon said some dignified things about how our patient was giving other people a chance to live. Everyone nodded in agreement. He seemed thankful and sincere, yet he had to be that way for, at such a moment, anyone with even a modicum of intelligence would have felt anything else as an affront.

Removal of the donor’s lungs

The surgeon cut into the patient’s chest. Almost immediately the patient’s heart rate and blood pressure jumped. It resembled the powerful surge of life that comes during a period when a person’s very existence and survival are at stake. The jump originated in a spinal reflex that stimulated the woman’s sympathetic nervous system below the level of the brain. Still, it seemed a manifestation of her will to live. Even more so when her hand moved – a sure sign of life! But that, too, was mediated through a spinal reflex.

I gave the patient some anaesthetic gas. I also gave her some opioids. Why the latter? After all, a dead patient doesn’t feel pain. In part because opioids help to lower heart rate and blood pressure directly, but also, I must admit, because I thought my patient might still be a ‘little alive’, whatever that means, and therefore in pain. Irrational on my part, yes, but the secret of life, including the definition of life, still remains the deepest and most mysterious one. Here Nature permits no eavesdroppers; never will she permit anyone to know the exact point where brain death becomes real death. At this, she draws a veil. I wanted to hedge my bets.

The woman’s blood pressure soon dropped too low. I poured fluid into her intravenous line. In the meantime, the surgeon moved hurriedly to extract her heart, clamping the large blood vessels leading both to and from it. Our fast pace betrayed another incongruence. Speed is thought to be a bit unrefined in an operating room. True, it is needed to save money, but ideally the operating room is an ordered world with calm transitions, a world without haste, except during an emergency to save a patient’s life. The visibly hasty fashion in which I and the surgeon worked made it seem like one of those urgent situations. In fact, I was trying to keep her circulation going long enough for the surgeon to tear her heart out.

I transfused a unit of blood, as excessive blood clotting, common after brain death, had made her dangerously anaemic. I turned on the warming mattress lying underneath her to keep her body temperature from dropping below 36 degrees Celsius. Brain death interferes with the body’s ability to regulate temperature, and the resulting hypothermia poses a risk to the organs. Finally, I gave her insulin to control her blood sugar level, as brain death often causes blood sugar to rise. All of these are routine lifesaving measures. In the past, I had used them to fight off death in my sickest patients, but here I had to remind myself that my patient was already dead.

T he surgeon removed her heart. The irrevocable instant had come. It was as when a train starts with a violent jerk, as if to overcome a disinclination to change its state of inertia. For many in the operating room, this was the moment when the woman’s life really ended.

A minute before, I had heard the melodies of the electrocardiogram (EKG) and pulse oximeter without really thinking about them. An anaesthesiologist’s ear is so capable of adapting itself that a continuous din, like the noise of a street or the rushing sound of a river, adjusts itself completely to their consciousness. But the unexpected halt in the sounds startled me into listening – and looking. I stared over the ether screen into the woman’s now-vacant chest cavity. It was shameful and terrible to gaze upon. Part of me felt as if I had abetted a murder around the corner.

I tried to make this last sigh worthy of the moment, a sigh that only another human being could replicate

The surgeon injected the heart with cold preservative and put it in a box. His next target was the lungs. He asked me to manually give the woman one last deep breath so that he could confirm that all parts of her lungs had been expanded before their removal. The breath I gave her was slow and gentle, like a sigh. Indeed, medically speaking, it was a sigh. On ventilators, there is a function labelled ‘sigh’ which, when pressed, gives a patient a single sustained deep breath to open up the lung’s small air sacs. Almost proudly, I imagined the sigh I gave this woman to be more human than what a machine could give. Compressing the anaesthesia bag with my hand, I imagined how she might have sighed in the past, on her own, in the face of some bitter reality, some trick or force of fate, crushing her heart but also uplifting her. I tried to make this last sigh worthy of the moment, a sigh that only another human being could replicate, a deep breath that begins with disappointment, passes into resignation, and ends in acceptance. I crafted that last sigh as if it were the epilogue to a tragedy.

When the woman exhaled her last bit of sigh, I removed her breathing tube. The surgeon took out her lungs and stapled her windpipe shut. At this point, there was little for me to do, and my inactivity plunged me into a sense of nothingness. I felt I was going to gag on my thoughts if I didn’t do something. I walked away from my patient to look inside a cupboard. I opened a few drawers. Then I felt badly for doing so. Although one of us was dead, still there seemed to be two of us here. It’s as if the woman and I were friends and I didn’t want to leave my friend. I went back and stood by her head.

The surgical team removed the rest of her organs and the case finished. Here the woman and I reached a parting of the ways. I stared at her face seriously and fixedly as though I wanted to look my fill and imprint forever on my memory her image. I cannot recall for how long I looked. Great moments are always outside of time.

Our relationship proved significant. Nothing is more characteristic of the total lack of spiritual connection between myself and other patients than the fact that I have forgotten most of their names and faces. But this woman’s name and face I remember. And when I speak of memory, I do not mean something akin to a register kept in a well-ordered office, a place in which documents are laid away in store. I mean something submerged in the rushing stream of my blood, memory as a living organ in which every feeling experienced that day retains its natural essence, its original intensity, its primary historical form.

Charrier and his colleague Ludovic Dupautet en route to hospital with the organ-transport ice chest

M y patient lived longer than what her death certificate says. She lived in my mind during the organ retrieval and continues to live in my memory because I do not want to forget her, and because I cannot forget her. Although I know only her general outlines, our connection satisfies some deep law of harmony underlying all life, in which every person must enter into communion with another person in order fully to live. By that standard, my patient lived past her official time of death.

When AI replaces the anaesthesiologist during organ retrievals, you, the organ donor, will not live any longer than what’s listed on your death certificate. The air inside the operating room is already cold, dry and unpleasant. Various monitors will sit on the top shelf of the anaesthesia machine, regulated by AI. Their special melodic rings will no longer be necessary, as their data will be sent along to AI in silence. Care will be delivered without the mediation of human minds, senses or hands.

Before your lungs are removed, the machine’s ventilator bellows will go up, down, up, down. Capable only of whooshing and not ringing, the bellows will seem to call sadly through the cold air to the monitors sitting above, waiting fruitlessly for a response. What a simple, insignificant movement: up, down, up, down, never getting away from the same place. It will be the only activity surrounding your head amid the metal machines, with their cold, menacing gleam. Nobody will be sitting next to you to wonder about what you were like, or about the things that distinguished your personality and made it special. A vision of the future arises: similarly deserted operating rooms with AI machines all moving automatically, while the people who used to work in them have gone off somewhere to sit dreamily on the grass beneath the sky.

Medicine has tapped a new source of organs in the form of donation after circulatory death

It seems a decidedly unpleasant environment in which to meet one’s end, and enough to discourage those on the fence from becoming potential organ donors. Rather than live a bit longer in the mind of another person, rather than have that person think about you and wonder about you, entertain irrational imaginary concerns about you, slip a little extra narcotic into your intravenous line ‘just in case’, engage in metaphysical speculations about your breathing pattern, and imagine you a friend, you will be alone on the table, and your surgery will more closely resemble a bandit raid. The machines will be determined to take everything, every organ. Reduced to financial terms, it will be as if you were left penniless.

Worse, a new danger will come to overlie the chilling sense of emptiness, scaring even more people away from becoming organ donors. Because there are already too few brain-dead donors – each year, more than 8,000 people in the US die while on the waiting list for organs – medicine has tapped a new source of organs in the form of donation after circulatory death (DCD). These organ donors are not brain dead, although many of them are unconscious. Instead, they lack circulatory or respiratory activity after being disconnected from artificial life-support systems. Without such activity after a few minutes of so-called ‘no touch’, they are declared dead, and their organs become available for donation. Their numbers have been growing over the past two decades. Today, they account for about 10 per cent of transplanted organs in the US.

The problem is that certain medicines necessarily given to these donors before death, but in expectation of death, may hasten their death. The medicines are given for the sole purpose of making their organs more viable for transplantation. Heparin, for example, prevents blood clotting, while phentolamine dilates blood vessels and improves blood flow to the organs. Yet heparin also increases the chances of bleeding into the brain, while phentolamine may lower blood pressure to the degree that a person goes into shock. Although these patients are near death for other reasons, the medicines may become their actual cause of death. This makes doctors uneasy; hence the rule not to give these medicines to donors prone to bleeding or with low blood pressure.

Y et the rule risks driving away potential donors, who will naturally think: ‘Doctors won’t give you these medicines to kill you; on the other hand, they won’t give you these medicines to help you. At some point, doctors aren’t really on your side. But when?’ As the number of brain-dead donors drops, medicine will increasingly rely on DCD donors to compensate. Already sensitised by the image of surrendering their organs to machines in a metallic desert, potential donors will fear being herded into the ‘imminent death’ category to meet some organ quota, a fear only heightened when word gets out that doctors are not always their advocates.

Currently, doctors in the US must get consent before declaring people DCD donors, but another model, called the ‘presumed consent model’, already operates in other countries and allows the recovery of organs without prior authorisation. A cascade of events threatens to turn organ retrieval into a kind of science-fiction nightmare, where organ shortages lead to medicines being given to people to preserve their organs while possibly hastening their death, all without telling them the plan or asking for their permission.

My experience in the operating room serves as a warning to those eager to cut corners and replace doctors with AI machines

Whenever people start to think about becoming an organ donor, they immediately make a leap to their own precious person. Who am I, what am I, what am I without my organs, and so forth. It is part and parcel of being a human being. That some people are willing to surrender their organs after death suggests that, to feel oneself human, they need more than merely having a whole body; they also need an atmosphere of simple humanity. To feel human, people need to feel that they occupy space in the thoughts and feelings of others. It is why they consider becoming organ donors in the first place. They imagine helping others by giving up a part of themselves in the future. In exchange, they imagine the recipients thinking from time to time about what they, their donors, were like. In that way, the donors feel a connection with whomever those recipients might be, and feel somehow fulfilled.

The surgeons arriving back at the Foch hospital with the donor’s lungs

I’d like to think that caring for my brain-dead patient satisfied some small part of this need to feel human, whether on the part of my patient before she died and who perhaps lived in expectation of becoming a donor one day, or on the part of her relatives who gave their consent to the procedure after she was declared brain dead. Either way, I connected with her or with her family.

My experience in the operating room serves as a warning to those eager to cut corners and replace doctors with AI machines willy-nilly. You don’t satisfy people’s urge to feel human by making the bridge to the next world a totally inhuman one.

The lesson extends far beyond organ donation. AI promises to make healthcare quicker, more precise, and error-free. To the degree that it replaces doctors and nurses, it portends a massive shift in medicine that seems to come every 30 years, when people are so overwhelmed by the burden of their own technological creations, they need every iota of their strength to adjust. Once again, with the advent of AI, advancements promise to put healthcare on an entirely new footing and, once again, the inevitable backlash will be there. So it was in the 1960s, when new medical technologies and procedures, such as home dialysis machines and coronary artery bypass surgery, improved life, and yet, during this same period, the medical profession’s reputation plummeted, as patients complained that doctors had grown cold and impersonal. So it was in the 1990s, when the rise of managed care promised greater efficiency at less cost, and a ‘win-win’ strategy anchored in preventive medicine, led to a patient rebellion against being treated like cattle, including their inability to choose their own doctor, and rushed visits to practitioners ‘on the plan’.

Now, in the 2020s, the stage is set for outrage, yet again. AI promises to elevate healthcare; but, to the degree that it replaces doctors and nurses, it also threatens to depersonalise patients and to wash off their distinctive colours until everyone has the same drab tint. In the crucible that looms, patients are going to rebel. And it is in the arena of organ donation, where they face death by machine, that they are likely to baulk loudest, and first.

Chasing ghost particles

Without the neutrino, the Universe might be an empty void. But this inscrutable particle isn’t giving up its secrets easily

Corey S Powell

Thinkers and theories

The value of our values

When Nietzsche used the tools of philology to explore the nature of morality, he became a ‘philosopher of the future’

Alexander Prescott-Couch

Problem-solving matter

Life is starting to look a lot less like an outcome of chemistry and physics, and more like a computational process

David C Krakauer & Chris Kempes

History of ideas

Philosophy of the people

How two amateur schools pulled a generation of thinkers from the workers and teachers of the 19th-century American Midwest

Joseph M Keegin

Nature and landscape

Laughing shores

Sailors, exiles, merchants and philosophers: how the ancient Greeks played with language to express a seaborne imagination

Giordano Lipari

Virtues and vices

Make it awkward!

Rather than being a cringey personal failing, awkwardness is a collective rupture – and a chance to rewrite the social script

Alexandra Plakias

Essay on Organ Donation

Students are often asked to write an essay on Organ Donation in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Organ Donation

What is organ donation.

Organ donation is when a person allows their organs to be given to someone who needs them after they die. The organs can be the heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas, or intestines. Giving an organ can save the life of someone with a sick organ that doesn’t work well.

Who Can Donate?

Almost anyone can be an organ donor. Adults and, with parent’s permission, children can choose to donate. Doctors check if the donor’s organs are healthy enough to be given to another person.

The Process of Donating

When a person dies, doctors see if they can donate. If yes, the organs are taken out carefully and quickly given to patients who need them. The donor’s family does not have to pay for this.

The Need for Donors

Many people are waiting for an organ, but there aren’t enough donors. More donors mean more people can get the help they need. It’s important to talk with your family about your choice to donate.

Also check:

250 Words Essay on Organ Donation

Organ donation is when a person allows their organs to be given to someone else who needs them after they die. Sometimes, living people can also give one of their kidneys or a part of their liver to help another person.

Why is Organ Donation Important?

Organ donation is very important because it can save lives. Many people are sick with organs that do not work well, and they need new ones to become healthy again. Without new organs, these people might not live for very long.

Almost anyone can be an organ donor. It does not matter how old you are or what your background is. The most important thing is that the organs are healthy. Doctors check this very carefully before they put the organs into another person’s body.

How to Become a Donor

To become an organ donor, you can sign up on a special list or tell your family about your wish to donate. This way, if something happens to you, the doctors will know that you want to give your organs to help others.

Respect and Care

In summary, organ donation is a generous act that can give someone a second chance at life. It is a simple process to sign up, and it shows a big heart to help others in need.

500 Words Essay on Organ Donation

Organ donation is a kind act where a person allows their organs to be moved into another person’s body. When someone’s organ, like their heart or kidney, stops working well, they might need a new one. Organ donation is a way to give them a healthy organ. This can save their lives or help them feel better.

Organ donation is very important because it can save lives. Many people are waiting for an organ, and sometimes they have to wait a long time. Without a new organ, these people might not survive. By donating organs, you can help them live longer and enjoy life with their families and friends.

How Do You Become a Donor?

To become an organ donor, you need to tell others that you want to donate. You can do this by signing up on a special list or telling your family about your choice. It’s also a good idea to carry a card in your wallet that says you are a donor. This way, if something happens to you, doctors will know that you want to give your organs to help others.

The Process of Donation

Concerns and myths.

Some people are worried about donating their organs. They might think that doctors won’t try to save their lives if they are donors, but this isn’t true. Doctors always work hard to save every person’s life. Another worry is about how the body will look after donation. The truth is, doctors are very careful, and the body will look the same as before.

Organ donation is a very special choice that can make a big difference in someone’s life. It’s a way to show kindness and help others even after you’re gone. By learning about organ donation and talking to your family, you can decide if it’s right for you. Remember, your choice to donate your organs could be the reason someone else gets to live a longer and happier life.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

Happy studying!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Home — Essay Samples — Nursing & Health — Organ Donation — Organ Donation: Unlocking the Benefits, Types, and Misconceptions

Organ Donation: Unlocking The Benefits, Types, and Misconceptions

• Categories: Organ Donation Organ Transplant

About this sample

Words: 1229 |

Published: Oct 2, 2020

Words: 1229 | Pages: 3 | 7 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, the urgent need for organ donation, types of organ donation, misconceptions surrounding organ donation, the profound benefits of organ donation.

• Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). (2019). OPTN/SRTR 2018 Annual Data Report. https://srtr.transplant.hrsa.gov/annual_reports/2018_ADR_Preview.aspx
• Donate Life America. (n.d.). Types of Donation. https://www.donatelife.net/types-of-donation/
• Donate Life America. (n.d.). Religion and Organ Donation. https://www.donatelife.net/faith-and-donation/
• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2019). The Living Donor. https://www.organdonor.gov/about/process/living-donation.html
• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2019). What Can Be Donated. https://www.organdonor.gov/about/process/organs.html
• Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). (2019). The Need Is Real: Data. https://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/data/view-data-reports/national-data/#.
• American Transplant Foundation. (n.d.). Myths About Organ Donation. https://www.americantransplantfoundation.org/about-transplant/facts-and-myths/myths-about-organ-donation/

Cite this Essay

To export a reference to this article please select a referencing style below:

Let us write you an essay from scratch

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Verified writer

• Expert in: Nursing & Health

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

2 pages / 1049 words

2 pages / 759 words

4 pages / 1596 words

8 pages / 3463 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on Organ Donation

The case of Baby Theresa, a newborn born with anencephaly in 1992, ignited a profound ethical debate regarding organ donation, the definition of death, and the boundaries of medical intervention. This essay delves into the [...]

Organ donation is a medical marvel that saves countless lives each year, offering a ray of hope to those in dire need of organ transplants. However, beneath the altruistic act of organ donation lie complex ethical issues that [...]

Organ donation is a pure act of kindness. However, it is often debated about whether it should be mandatory or not. Donating your organ is a social cause which is all together a decision of the person who is willing to donate [...]

The advent of the concept of organ transplantation came as an important breakthrough in the medical field, in the 20th century. The idea behind organ donation and transplant is simple. A healthy organ (such as heart, lungs, [...]

Despite many possible life-concerning consequences following an allogeneic organ transplantation such as graft rejection, side effects from long-term immunosuppression and unquantifiable risk of disease transmissions, many [...]

Organ transplantation stands as a remarkable medical achievement, offering a lifeline to countless individuals whose organs have failed due to illness or injury. However, the global shortage of available organs has led to a [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

The PMC website is updating on October 15, 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• Public Health Rep
• v.128(4); Jul-Aug 2013

The Power of Organ Donation to Save Lives Through Transplantation

Organ and tissue donation is more important than many of us realize—for society and for the individuals it directly affects. Today, there are nearly 118,000 individuals waiting for an organ transplant to live healthier, more productive lives (Unpublished data, Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network [OPTN], April 2013). For some people with end-stage organ failure, it is truly a matter of life and death. Add to these the thousands more whose lives will be improved through tissue and cornea donation and transplants that can help them move better, see better, and live better.

Donation affects more than the donors and recipients. It also affects the families, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances who love and support those in need of transplantation, and who benefit from their renewed life and improved health after transplant. For my part, I have experienced not once, but twice how donation and transplantation affects individuals.

Twenty years ago, my wife, Donna Lee Jones, died in a severe automobile accident. Her death was a shock, and my family did not know what to make of our tragedy. Then we were offered the opportunity to donate her organs and tissues for transplantation. While it did not lessen the pain of her loss, it brought comfort to us knowing that out of our tragedy, some good would come, and others could receive the gift of life. Because of her donation, several people received a new lease on life: a man in Tampa, Florida, received her heart; a teenage boy in Washington, D.C., received a kidney and pancreas; a hospital custodian received her other kidney; a woman in Pennsylvania received her liver; and her corneas went to a young woman in Baltimore, Maryland, and a government worker.

Four years later, my 20-year-old daughter, Vikki Lianne, was struck by a car and died. Losing a spouse was tragic enough, but the pain of losing a child cannot be expressed. Falling back on our previous experience, we decided to donate Vikki's organs and tissues for transplantation. Again, several individuals benefited from her gift: a mother of five children from Upstate New York received her heart; a widow with four children received her lung; a 59-year-old man from Washington, D.C., who was active with a local charity, received her liver; a widower with one daughter received her kidney; a working father received the other kidney; and her corneas went to a 26-year-old man in Florida and a 60-year-old woman in Pennsylvania. And we, her family, took comfort in the idea that Vikki's legacy was one of life and giving.

Organ donation provides a life-giving, life-enhancing opportunity to those who are at the end of the line for hope. And the need for organ donors is growing. When Donna Lee died in 1992, there were 27,000 people on the transplant wait list. When Vikki died just four years later, that number had grown to 47,000 (Unpublished data, OPTN, January 2010). As of April 5, 2013, there were 117,812 people waiting, with hope, for an organ to become available (Unpublished data, OPTN, April 2013).

One way to expand the number of organs available for transplantation is to expand the number of donors, through carefully and safely considering individuals who in the past were not included. The guideline in this special issue of Public Health Reports provides a scientific, evidence-based process to assure a balance between organ safety and availability for each individual on the transplant wait list. As our knowledge and scientific capabilities regarding safety and availability grow and evolve, donors who in the past would not have been considered as donors are now able to provide the gift of life to others.

This guideline will help improve organ transplant outcomes, leading to more individuals being able to live healthier and longer lives. The science and evidence are clear and will improve the safety of organs, balanced with a clear and conscious regard for donors and recipients. It is the human aspect of donation and transplantation—helping people. It is the right thing to do.

Rear Admiral (Ret.) Kenneth Moritsugu is a former Acting Surgeon General of the United States.

This article was supported in part by Health Resources and Services Administration contract #234-2005-370011C. The content of this article is the responsibility of the author alone and does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Organ Donation Essay

Organ donation is a noble act of transplanting healthy organs from a donor to a patient receiver. Human body organs and tissues that function properly are collected and transplanted into patients’ bodies to save their lives. In most cases, organ donations are performed after the donor’s death. But some organs can be donated even when the donors are alive. Kids learning activities like organ donation essays will help them attain more scientific knowledge and better their academic performances.

Superheroes are not born; they are made by society. By participating in activities like organ donations, people can save lives and turn themselves into real superheroes. The following short essay in English on the necessity of performing organ donation in society will help kids improve their basic knowledge about the human body. BYJU’S importance of organ donation essay for kids will also help develop social consciousness and humanity in their minds.

Table of Contents

What is organ donation, necessity of organ donation in the society.

Organ donation can be defined as the process of transplanting an organ or tissue from one person to another person through surgical methods. The recipient performs the transplantation because of organ failure or damage caused by disease or injury. Organ donation marks the advancement of science in the medical sector.

People of all ages can perform organ donation. Organ donations are completely voluntary actions, and people cannot be compelled to engage in these activities. Illiteracy, lack of proper guidance, lack of awareness, the fright of surgery, etc., are some of the major reasons that stop a person from engaging in such charity practices. People hesitate to donate organs because of their misunderstandings related to organ donation procedures. Myths and misconceptions about organ donation have to be cleared from people’s minds. Teachers can direct their students to visit online resources like BYJU’S essay on health education to learn more about human health.

The kidney, eyes, liver, heart, skin tissues, small intestines, and lungs are some of the organs that people commonly donate. Participation in organ donation is a great form of charity and social service. It marks the contribution of individuals after death. We all should pledge to donate our organs to save lives and promote the importance of organ donation by participating in various campaigns.

World Organ Donation Day is observed annually on August 13. It is celebrated by people worldwide to raise awareness about the necessity of organ donation in society. The World Health Organisation and other health organisations conduct live classes on health-related topics to educate people. Essay writing activities on topics like the necessity of organ donation in society and organ donation essay are excellent tools for teaching the little ones about the process and importance of organ donations. For more essays, worksheets and stories , visit BYJU’S website.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is organ donation.

Organ donation is the practice of surgically transplanting an organ or tissue from one person to another person.

When is World Organ Donation Day?

August 13 is observed as World Organ Donation Day.

What do children learn from BYJU’S organ donation essay?

BYJU’S organ donation essay provides an opportunity for kids to attain knowledge of the human organ system. Practising essay writing activities will help them perform well in their academics and score good marks.

Related Links

Register with BYJU'S & Download Free PDFs

Register with byju's & watch live videos.

Organ Donation - Free Essay Samples And Topic Ideas

Organ Donation is the process of surgically removing an organ or tissue from one person (the organ donor) and placing it into another person (the recipient). Essays could explore the ethical, social, and medical aspects of organ donation, including the processes of organ transplantation, the importance of donor registries, and the debates surrounding consent and allocation policies. A substantial compilation of free essay instances related to Organ Donation you can find in Papersowl database. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

Mandatory Organ Donation: Ethical or Unethical

The American Transplant Foundation reports that every 12 minutes, there is an additional member who joins 123,000 national organ transplant donors. Even though many people are aware of the advantages that come with organ donation, they may not comprehend all the benefits that come with organ donation, especially to the donor (Santivasi, Strand, Mueller & Beckman, 2017). The subject of organ donation is important because it improves the quality of life for the recipient of the organ transplant. For instance, […]

Should Organ Donation be Mandatory?

Organ donation is the gift of life. By donating organs you are literally saving thousands of adults and children. The number of patients whose organs are failing on a continuous bases. consequently , the more people who are on the list the less likely they are to get an organ which sadly results in their untimely death. But why would you want to see another human being die? Here in the united states, there is a shortage of organs. According […]

Should Organ Donors be Paid for Donations

There seems to be a great debate in this country about whether or not donors should be paid for organ donations. I honestly did not know that this debate was going on before I started doing research on this subject. It seems crazy to think that the state legislator should get involved in the question whether people should be paid for organ donations. I have read a few articles about"the gift of life" and it all sounds ridiculous to me. […]

We will write an essay sample crafted to your needs.

The Benefit of Organ Donation

If there is one thing that everyone in the world can agree on it is the fact that eventually we are all going to die. Death is going to happen to each and every one of us, and the thought of dying is usually very tragic to most people. It is not knowing what is going to happen that can cause the fear of dying in a person or a family. Diseases and tragic accidents are usually the cause for […]

Understanding of Organ Donation

Do we ever think about those patients who lay on bed 24 hours days a week in search of Organ ? There are many simpler ways in which patients can be cured, but it gets very difficult when only one way left which is by donating organ. In simpler words, Organ Donation is the removal process of Organ or tissue from one person through surgical process to be transplanted to another person for the purpose of replacing an Organ injured […]

3D Printing and Bioprinting Revolutionizing Healthcare

3D bioprinting is one of the most anticipating and promising technological advancements of all time. According to the US National Library of Medicine, 3D bioprinting is "a manufacturing method in which objects are made by fusing or depositing materials? such as plastic, metal, ceramics, powders, liquids, or even living cells? in layers to produce a 3D object" (Ventola, 2014, para 2). Is With the capability of using real cells, 3D bioprinting will make it possible to create living tissue. This […]

Why Organ Donation should be Compulsory?

Imagine this: you are diagnosed with severe heart failure and your only chance of survival is to receive a heart transplant. Although your loved ones would desperately like to help, they are unable to. Unlike a set of lungs or a pair of kidneys, you only have one heart, thus making it impossible to consider the idea of utilizing a living donor. You now are faced with the fact that in order to live, you need to rely on an […]

Definition of Organ Donation

Organ donation is defined as the process of transplanting human organs from one person to another ("Organ donation," 2017). As of November 2018, there are more than 114,600 people on the national waiting list for a donor organ, and a new person is added to the list every 10 minutes ("Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network," n.d.). So far in 2018, over 30,400 transplants have been performed from more than 14,500 donors ("Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network," n.d.). The most commonly […]

Reborn to be Alive : Critical Analysis of an Advertisement

“Becoming a donor is probably your only chance to get inside her.” Reborn to be Alive showcases their slogan proudly across their advertisement as a provocative half-naked woman entices the viewer with her gaze. Being an organ donor means being selfless, having compassion, and altruism; yet being an organ donor isn’t enough sufficiency for a good marketing campaign, thus the sexist direction of their advertisement. Reborn to be Alive meant to capture men’s attention by the use of such sexist […]

Role of the Default Bias in Organ Donation Rates

The first law of motion, also known as the law of inertia by Newton goes like this: A body in motion remains in motion or, if at rest, remains at rest at a constant velocity unless acted on by an external force. If one thought inertia was only confined to the walls of physics, behavioral economics asks them to think again. Here I'd like to introduce the reader to the concept of cognitive bias – an organized and consistent pattern […]

Organ Donation Programmes Across the World

Organ Donation Programmes Across the World China Till 2014, Chinese authorities permitted the harvesting of organs from executed prisoners without prior consent from them or their families. In fact, in December 2005, the country’s deputy health minister estimated that as many as 95 per cent of the organs used in China’s transplants came from such sources. Since then, China has banned the practice and is now trying to galvanize organ donations from regular civilians. Iran Iran is the as it […]

Organ Donation not being Accessible for all

Organ Donation: Not Accessible for All "Don't think of organ donation as giving up part of yourself to keep a total stranger alive. It's really a total stranger giving up almost all of themselves to keep part of you alive" (~Author Unknown). Organ donation is the process of surgically removing an organ or tissue from one person (the organ donor) and placing it into another person (the recipient). This is necessary when the recipient's organ has failed or has been […]

Additional Example Essays

• Poor Nutrition and Its Effects on Learning
• The Mental Health Stigma
• Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner
• Substance Abuse and Mental Illnesses
• The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food
• PTSD in Veterans
• Drunk Driving
• Arguments For and Against Euthanasia
• Effects of Childhood Trauma on Children Development
• Gender Inequality in the Medical Field
• Leadership in Nursing
• Causes of Teenage Pregnancy

1. Tell Us Your Requirements

2. Pick your perfect writer

3. Get Your Paper and Pay

Hi! I'm Amy, your personal assistant!

Don't know where to start? Give me your paper requirements and I connect you to an academic expert.

short deadlines

100% Plagiarism-Free

Certified writers

Organ Donation Essay

Table of Contents

Organ donation has proved to be a miracle for the society. Organs such as kidneys, heart, eyes, liver, small intestine, bone tissues, skin tissues and veins are donated for the purpose of transplantation. The donor gives a new life to the recipient by the way of this noble act. Organ donation is encouraged worldwide. The government of different countries have put up different systems in place to encourage organ donation. However, the demand for organs is still quite high as compared to their supply. Effective steps must be taken to meet this ever-increasing demand.

Fill Out the Form for Expert Academic Guidance!

Please indicate your interest Live Classes Books Test Series Self Learning

Verify OTP Code (required)

I agree to the terms and conditions and privacy policy .

Fill complete details

Target Exam ---

Long and Short Essay on Organ Donation in English

We have provided below short and long essay on organ donation in simple English for your information and knowledge.

After going through the essays you will know the significance of organ donation for someone in need, the procedure involved, under what circumstances is it illegal to donate an organ and what are safe physical criterion for organ donation.

You can use these organ donation essay in your school college events wherein you need to give a speech, write an essay or take part in debate.

Essay on Organ Donation in 200 words

Organ donation is done by both living and deceased donors. The living donors can donate one of the two kidneys, a lung or a part of a lung, one of the two lobes of their liver, a part of the intestines or a part of the pancreas. While a deceased donor can donate liver, kidneys, lungs, intestines, pancreas, cornea tissue, skin tissue, tendons and heart valves.

The organ donation process varies from country to country. The process has broadly been classified into two categories – Opt in and Opt out. Under the opt-in system, one is proactively required to register for donation of his/ her organs while in the opt-out system, every individual becomes a donor post death unless he/she opts-out of it.

There is a huge demand for organs. It is sad how several people in different parts of the world die each year waiting for organ transplant. The governments of different countries are taking steps to raise the supply of organs and in certain parts the number of donors has increased. However, the requirement of organs has simultaneously increased at a much rapid speed.

Each one of us should come forward and register to donate organs after death. “Be an organ donor, all it costs is a little love”.

Also Check: Essay on Organ Trafficking

Essay on Organ Donation in 300 words

Organ donation takes place when an organ of a person’s body is removed with his consent while he is alive or with the consent of his family member after his death for the purpose of research or transplant. Kidneys, liver, lungs, heart, bones, bone marrow, corneas, intestines and skin are transplanted to give new life to the receiver.

Organ Donation Process

• Living Donors

Living donors require undergoing thorough medical tests before organ donation. This also includes psychological evaluation of the donor to ensure whether he understands the consequences of donation and truly consents for it.

• Deceased Donors

In case of the deceased donors, it is first verified that the donor is dead. The verification of death is usually done multiple times by a neurologist. It is then determined if any of his/ her organs can be donated.

After death, the body is kept on a mechanical ventilator to ensure the organs remain in good condition. Most organs work outside the body only for a couple of hours and thus it is ensured that they reach the recipient immediately after removal.

Gap between Demand and Supply

The demand for organs is considerably higher than the number of donors around the world. Each year several patients die waiting for donors. Statistics reveal that in India against an average annual demand for 200,000 kidneys, only 6,000 are received. Similarly, the average annual demand for hearts is 50,000 while as low as 15 of them are available.

The need for organ donation needs to be sensitized among the public to increase the number of donors. The government has taken certain steps such as spreading awareness about the same by way of TV and internet. However, we still have a long way to go.

Organ donation can save a person’s life. Its importance must not be overlooked. A proper system should be put in place for organ donation to encourage the same.

Essay on Organ Donation in 400 words

Organ donation is the process of allowing organ or tissue to be removed surgically from one person to place it in another person or to use it for research purpose. It is done by the consent of donor in case he is alive or by the consent of next of kin after death. Organ donation is encouraged worldwide.

Kidneys, liver, lungs, heart, bones, bone marrow, skin, pancreas, corneas, intestines and skin are commonly used for transplantation to render new life to the recipient. Organ donation is mostly done after the donor’s death. However, certain organs and tissues such as a kidney, lobe of a lung, portion of the liver, intestine or pancreas can be donated by living donors as well.

Organ Donation Consent Process

There are two types of consents when it comes to organ donation. These are the explicit consent and the presumed consent.

• Explicit Consent: Under this the donor provides a direct consent through registration and carrying out other required formalities based on the country.
• Presumed Consent: This does not include a direct consent from the donor or the next of kin. As the name suggests, it is assumed that the donation would have been allowed by the potential donor in case consent was pursued.

Among the possible donors approximately twenty five percent of the families deny donation of their loved one’s organs.

Organ Donation in India

• Legalised by Law

Organ donations are legal as per the Indian law. The Transplantation of Human Organs Act (THOA), 1994 enacted by the government of India permits organ donation and legalizes the concept of brain death.

• Documentation and Formalities

The donor is required to fill a prescribed form. The same can be taken from the hospital or other medical facility approached for organ donation or can be downloaded from the ministry of health and family welfare government of India’s website.

In case of a deceased donor, a written consent from the lawful custodian is required in the prescribed application form.

As is the case with the rest of the world, the demand of organs in India is much higher compared to their supply. There is a major shortage of donated organs in the country. Several patients are on the wait list and many of them succumb to death waiting for organ transplant.

The government of India is making efforts to spread awareness about organ transplant to encourage the same. However, it needs to take effective steps to raise the number of donors.

Essay on Organ Donation in 500 words

Organ donation refers to the process of giving organs or tissues to a living recipient who requires a transplant. Organ donation is mostly done after death. However, certain organs can be donated even by a living donor.

The organs that are mostly used for the purpose of transplant include kidney, liver, heart, pancreas, intestines, lungs, bones and bone marrow. Each country follows its own procedure for organ donation. Here is a look at how different countries encourage and process organ donation.

Organ Donation Process – Opt In and Opt Out

While certain countries follow the organ donation opt-in procedure others have the opt-out procedure in place. Here is a look at the difference between these two processes of organ donation:

• Opt In System: In the opt-in system, people are required to proactively sign up for the donation of their organs after death.
• Opt Out System: Under this system, organ donation automatically occurs unless a person specifically makes a request to opt out before death.

Organ Donation in Different Countries

India follows the opt-in system when it comes to organ donation. Anyone who wishes to donate organs needs to fill a prescribed form available on the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Government of India’s website.

In order to control organ commerce and encourage donation after brain death, the government of India came up with the law, The Transplantation of Human Organs Act in the year 1994. This brought about a considerable change in terms of organ donation in the country.

Spain is known to be the world leader in organ donations. It follows the opt-out system for organ donation.

• United States

The need for organs in the United States is growing at a rapid pace. Though there has been a rise in the number of organ donors, however, the number of patients waiting for the organs has increased at a much higher rate. Organ donation in the United States is done only with the consent of the donor or their family. However, several organizations here are pushing for the opt-out organ donation.

• United Kingdom

Organ donation in the United Kingdom is voluntary. Individuals who want to donate their organs after death can register for the same.

This is the only country that has been able to overcome the shortage of transplant organs. It has a legal payment system for organ donation and is also the only country that has legalized organ trade.

Organ donation is quite low in Japan as compared to other western countries. This is mainly due to cultural reasons, distrust in western medicines and a controversial organ transplant that took place in 1968.

In Columbia, the ‘Law 1805’ passed in August 2016, introduced the opt-out policy for organ donation.

Chile opted for the opt-out policy for organ donation under the, ‘Law 20,413’ wherein all the citizens above the age of 18 years will donate organs unless they specifically deny it before death.

Most of the countries around the world suffer from low organ donor rate. The issue must be taken more seriously. Laws to increase the rate of organ donation must be put in place to encourage the same.

Essay on Organ Donation in 600 words

Organ Donation is the surgical removal of a living or dead donor’s organs to place them in the recipient to render him/her a new life. Organ donation has been encouraged worldwide. However, the demand of human organs far outweighs the supply. Low rate of organ donation around the world can be attributed to various reasons. These reasons are discussed below in detail.

Teleological Issues

The moral status of the black market organ donation is debatable. While some argue in favour of it others are absolutely against the concept. It has been seen that those who donate their organs are generally from the poor section of the society and those who can afford these are quite well off. There is thus an imbalance in the trade.

It has been observed that those who can purchase the organs are taking advantage of the ones who are desperate to sell. This is said to be one of the reasons for the rising inequality of status between the rich and the poor. On the other hand, it is argued that those who want to sell their organs should be allowed to do so as preventing them from it is only contributing to their status as impoverished. Those who are in favour of the organ trade also argue that exploitation is preferable to death and hence organ trade must be legalized. However, as per a survey, later in life the living donors regret their decision of donating their organs.

Several cases of organ theft have also come forward. While those in support of the legalization of organ market say that this happens because of the black market nature of trade while others state that legalizing it would only result in the rise of such crimes as the criminal can easily state that the organ being sold has not been stolen.

Deontological Issues

These are defined by a person’s ethical duty to take action. Almost all the societies in the world believe that donating organs voluntarily is ethically permissible. Many scholars believe that everyone should donate their organs after death.

However, the main issue from the standpoint of deontological ethics is the debate over the definitions of life, death, body and human. It has been argued that organ donation is an act of causing self harm. The use of cloning to come up with organs with a genotype identical to the recipient is another controversial topic.

Xenotransplantation which is the transfer of animal organs into human bodies has also created a stir. Though this has resulted in increased supply of organs it has also received a lot of criticism. Certain animal rights groups have opposed the sacrifice of animals for organ donation. Campaigns have been launched to ban this new field of transplantation.

Religious Issues

Different religious groups have different viewpoints regarding organ donation. The Hindu religion does not prohibit people from donating organs. The advocates of the Hindu religion state that it is an individual choice. Buddhists share the same view point.

The Catholics consider it as an act of love and charity. It is morally and ethically acceptable as per them. The Christian Church, Islam, United Methodists and Judaism encourage organ donation. However, Gypsies tend to oppose it as they believe in afterlife. The Shintos are also against it as they believe that injuring a dead body is a heinous crime.

Apart from this, the political system of a country also impacts organ donation. The organ donation rate can increase if the government extends proper support. There needs to be a strong political will to ensure rise in the transplant rate. Specialized training, care, facilities and adequate funding must be provided to ensure a rise.

The demand for organs has always been way higher than their supply due to the various issues discussed above. There is a need to focus on these issues and work upon them in order to raise the number of organ donors.

Essay on Organ Donation FAQs

How do you write an organ donation essay.

To write an organ donation essay, start with an introduction explaining its importance, discuss benefits, address common concerns, and conclude with a call to action for readers to consider becoming donors.

What is a short note on organ donation?

Organ donation involves willingly giving one's organs after death to save lives. It's a selfless act that can bring hope and health to those in need.

How important is organ donation?

Organ donation is crucial as it saves lives by providing organs to individuals suffering from organ failure, offering them a chance for a healthier and longer life.

What is the aim of organ donation?

The aim of organ donation is to provide organs and tissues from willing donors to those in need, improving the quality of life and increasing survival rates for recipients.

What are the 4 types of organ donation?

The four types of organ donation include deceased donation (after death), living donation (from a living person), paired exchange (swapping organs between two donor-recipient pairs), and directed donation (to a specific person).

What is the concept of organ donation?

Organ donation is the voluntary act of giving one's organs or tissues to save or enhance the lives of others, often occurring after death or, in some cases, while the donor is still alive.

Which organ Cannot be donated?

The brain cannot be donated for transplantation. While other organs like the heart, liver, kidneys, and lungs can be donated, the brain's complex functions make it ineligible for donation.

Related content

Get access to free Mock Test and Master Class

Register to Get Free Mock Test and Study Material

Offer Ends in 5:00

Select your Course

Please select class.

• Donation Research Topics Topics: 58
• Sepsis Essay Topics Topics: 52
• Patient Safety Topics Topics: 148
• Thrombosis Paper Topics Topics: 48
• Asthma Topics Topics: 155
• Sleep Deprivation Topics Topics: 48
• Dorothea Orem’s Theory Research Topics Topics: 85
• Heart Attack Topics Topics: 54
• Myocardial Infarction Research Topics Topics: 52
• Melanoma Essay Topics Topics: 60
• Communicable Disease Research Topics Topics: 58
• Hepatitis Essay Topics Topics: 57
• Osteoporosis Paper Topics Topics: 56
• Chlamydia Research Topics Topics: 52
• Parkinson's Disease Topics Topics: 53

51 Organ Donation Essay Topics

🏆 best essay topics on organ donation, 🎓 most interesting organ donation research titles, 💡 simple organ donation essay ideas.

• Human Organ Donation: Causes and Effects
• Organ Donation, Give the Gift of Life
• Organs Donation: Positive and Negative Sides
• The Ethics of Organ Donation
• Organ Transplantation and Donation
• Nudging in the Process of Organ Donation Registration
• The Relationship Between Spirituality and Organ Donation
• Organ Donation: Win-Win Agreement or a Noble Form of Cannibalism
• Commercialization of Organ Donation
• Organ Donation in Pakistan
• Organ Donation: Possibilities, Threats and Legal Issues
• The Importance of Organ Donation: Saving Lives Through Generosity
• How Organ Donation Works: The Medical Procedures Involved
• Living vs. Deceased Organ Donation: Differences and Considerations
• The Ethics of Organ Donation: Consent, Allocation, and Fairness
• Organ Donation Registration: How to Become a Donor
• Organ Donation Shortage: Causes and Solutions
• The Impact of Organ Donation on Recipients and Their Families
• Organ Donation Myths and Facts: Dispelling Common Misconceptions
• Religious Perspectives on Organ Donation: Support and Opposition
• The Process of Matching Donors and Recipients
• The Role of Technology in Organ Donation: Advances in Transplant Surgery
• Organ Donation Policies Around the World: Opt-In vs. Opt-Out Systems
• The Psychological Effects of Organ Donation on Donor Families
• Explaining Ethical Issues in Organ Allocation
• Organ Donation Organizations: Coordination and Support
• Organ Donation and Medical Ethics: Informed Consent and Autonomy
• The Impact of Organ Donation Campaigns on Public Awareness
• Cross-Border Organ Donation: International Cooperation and Challenges
• The Legal Aspects of Organ Donation: Laws and Regulations
• Pediatric Organ Donation: Special Considerations for Children
• The Role of Genetic Matching in Organ Transplants
• Analyzing Organ Donation After Cardiac Death vs. Brain Death
• Xenotransplantation: The Future of Organ Donation Using Animal Organs
• The Black Market for Organs: Addressing Illegal Organ Trade
• The Impact of Cultural Beliefs on Organ Donation Rates
• Organ Donation and Social Media: Raising Awareness in the Digital Age
• Aspect of Donor Registries in Facilitating Organ Donation
• Medical Advances in Artificial Organs and Their Potential to Reduce Demand
• Organ Donation in Minority Communities: Overcoming Barriers
• The Process of Organ Preservation and Transportation
• Family Consent in Organ Donation: Navigating Difficult Decisions
• The History of Organ Transplantation: Milestones and Pioneers
• Ethical Considerations of Living Donor Transplants
• Role of Immunosuppressive Therapy in Organ Transplant Success
• Organ Donation Education in Schools: Shaping Future Generations
• Success Rates of Different Types of Organ Transplants
• The Impact of Organ Donation on Healthcare Costs
• Public Policy and Organ Donation: Government Initiatives to Increase Donations
• Analysis of Organ Donation in Bioprinting and Regenerative Medicine
• Organ Transplant Recipients: Coping with Guilt, Gratitude, and a New Lease on Life

Cite this post

• Chicago (N-B)
• Chicago (A-D)

StudyCorgi. (2024, September 1). 51 Organ Donation Essay Topics. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/organ-donation-essay-topics/

"51 Organ Donation Essay Topics." StudyCorgi , 1 Sept. 2024, studycorgi.com/ideas/organ-donation-essay-topics/.

StudyCorgi . (2024) '51 Organ Donation Essay Topics'. 1 September.

1. StudyCorgi . "51 Organ Donation Essay Topics." September 1, 2024. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/organ-donation-essay-topics/.

Bibliography

StudyCorgi . "51 Organ Donation Essay Topics." September 1, 2024. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/organ-donation-essay-topics/.

StudyCorgi . 2024. "51 Organ Donation Essay Topics." September 1, 2024. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/organ-donation-essay-topics/.

These essay examples and topics on Organ Donation were carefully selected by the StudyCorgi editorial team. They meet our highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, and fact accuracy. Please ensure you properly reference the materials if you’re using them to write your assignment.

This essay topic collection was updated on September 23, 2024 .

Talk to our experts

1800-120-456-456

• Speech on Organ Donation

Introduction

Organ donation is a legal process through which the healthy organs and the tissues of one person are transplanted to another person. The person who donates his or her organs is known as a donor and the person who receives the organs is known as the organ receiver. Organ donation takes place by the consent of the donor when he or she was alive or by the consent of the family members of the donors. Organ donation is a noble act that can save millions of lives and sadly many people don't know the impact it has on other people’s lives. Even after death, a donor could bring joy to the life of the receiver. 

Here we have provided a long and short speech on organ donation and along with that we have also given 10 line pointers about the organ donation speech.

Long Speech on Organ Donation

Good morning to everyone present here. Today I have been given the opportunity to give a speech on organ donation. I will try my best to make sure that everybody understands the importance of organ donation and how it could save millions of lives. 

Organ donation is a process by which a person allows his or her organ to be removed and transplanted to another person in a legal manner either with the permission of the donor while he or she is alive or by the consent of close family members. So why is organ donation so important? and why is it talked about so much?. 

Organ donation is a social act and it’s considered to be an honor. Organ donation can happen from a brain-dead owner or a living donor. A few of the common transplants include kidneys, liver, intestines, heart, bone marrow, and lungs. It is not required that the donor should be dead to donate an organ. In a few cases, the organs and the tissues can be donated by the living donors such as a part of the liver if the blood group of the donor and the recipient match. Similarly, part of the lungs, pancreas, and intestines can also be donated. 

In India, we follow an opt-in system of organ donation. You may be thinking, what is an opt-in system?. In an opt-in system, the person who is on the death bed is presumed to have given consent to be a donor before his or her death unless they had made a specific request not to donate the organs. Organ donation in India is controlled by the Human Organ Act 1994. The legal forms for the people who are willing to donate their organs are given by India’s Ministry of health and family Welfare Government website. 

Every year around 6 lakh people die in India due to the shortage or the unavailability of organs. The organ donation rate in a western country is as high as 36 million in the United States as in India it is 0.3 million which is very low. When it comes to Mumbai, it has the best organ donation rates in the country with almost 48 donations happening in the year 2019 and almost 51 donations happening in the year 2020.

Organ donation is a helpful act by the donor that can help in saving a life of a person and also could help in improving the quality of life for many individuals. Imagine if eye transplantation is done via opt-in organ donation, it could help a blind person to view this beautiful world again. The organs donated to hospitals could be used for scientific research and experiments. The donor organs are also used by medical students to learn about the anatomy of the human body. Thousands of patients wait for organ transplants as many have different organ failures such as a liver, kidney , and even heart and during those harsh times, an organ donor after his or her sad demise could become a ray of hope for the patients. 

Many people believe that a brain-dead person cannot donate any organs, that is not. By brain death, one means permanent loss of brain and brain stem functions. The only activity the body can carry after the brain death is the beating of the heart, not even breathing. As long as the heart is beating the organ transplantation procedure could be carried out. Organ donation is a systematic and legal process and is governed by the government both at the national and the state level. National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) is a national-level organization set up under the government of India that foresees all the organ donation procedures all over the country. A nonprofit organization by the name of Zonal Transplant Coordination Centre (ZTCC) which is set up in Mumbai is working every day to promote organ donation. A brain-dead person can save up to seven lives. Lives that have been suffering for many years due to organ failures. There are many inspirational stories of people who donated their organs when they were near the death door. I request every one of you to read those stories and make a note of how donating organs after death can save the lives of people who are in need. 

To conclude this speech I want to say that death is inevitable and no one has escaped it.The greatest rulers who have lived before us have seen death and a newborn child who hasn’t experienced life has also witnessed death due to some circumstances. Organ donation is a noble act, a deed that could be done to save the lives of people even after the donor is dead. On this day, let us come forward and fulfill one more duty of ours as true Indian Citizens by pledging our organs which can save many lives after we leave this planet. The first step of willingness to donate an organ is to have a donor card. A donor card is an expression of a person’s willingness to be a donor. It is also important to make everyone aware of the importance of organ donation so please spread the word and help in saving lives. Thank you. 

Short Organ Donation Speech

Good morning to everyone present here. Today I have been given an opportunity to give a small speech on organ donation. I hope that this speech will help everyone to spread the word about the importance of organ donation and how it can save lives. 

Organ donation is a process by which a person allows his or her organ to be removed legally depending on his or her will or the consent of his family members to save the life of a person who is in need of that particular organ. 

Every year around 5 lakh people die due to organ failures in India. This could be due to accidents or the failure of specific organs. Organ transplantation can help in saving the life of people who have been fighting to survive. Organ transplantation is one of the greatest achievements that modern science has been able to accomplish. Many lives could be saved and significant deaths could be avoided if organ donation is done at the right time. 

Organ donation is a social act and it can be done by a living donor or a person who is brain dead. A few of the common organ transplantations include the Liver, intestines, kidneys, heart, and bone marrow. Organs are mostly donated after the death of the owner, however, many people are unaware of the noble act.

To conclude this speech I want to say that death is a mystery concept which many people don't understand. Death cannot be avoided and no one can run away from death. Organ donation is a noble act that could give a ray of hope to another person’s life who is suffering through many years because of the failure of a particular organ or organ. Be part of this noble act and have a donor card that shows the willingness of a person to donate an organ after his or her death. I wish you to live a happy life full of joy. A life in which you get a chance to impact many lives and when death knocks on your door I wish you are content with your life but also will make an impact through organ donation you give a chance for another person to live a happy life on this planet. Thank you for listening to everyone. 

10 Lines About the Speech on Organ Donation

Organ donation is a legal transfer of healthy organs from the donor to the receiver.it is considered to be a good deed as a person is saving the life of another. 

A person donating the organs is known as a donor and by the consent of the donor or family members, the process of organ donation takes place. 

The donation of organs can happen before the death of the person or after the death of the person.

In India, we follow an opt-in system for organ donation. In the opt-in system of organ donation, the donor has given his consent for organ donation before his death. 

Various organ transplantation takes place such as kidneys, lungs, liver, and bone marrow.

The transplantation of the kidney is the most common organ transplantation which occurs throughout the world.

Every year almost 5 lakh people die in India due to organ failure. Organ donation can help in saving the life of such people. 

Organ donation requires detailed testing of the donor’s body. The blood group and the compatibility of the donor and the receiver are also matched before the organ is transplanted. 

Organ donation provides a second chance to people who have suffered for years because of the failure of organs such as kidneys etc. 

Some people also donate their entire bodies for research and medical science. 

Different Types of Organ Donation: 

Autograft : Autograft is the process of transplanting a person's tissues from one part of his body to another part of his body. For example, skin from the legs might be removed and used to repair damaged skin on the face or other exposed areas.

Allograft : Allograft refers to the transplantation of an organ between two genetically dissimilar persons. Because of the genetic difference, the receiver will regard the donor's organ as alien and attempt to kill it. This is referred to as s rejection.

Isograft : Isograft refers to the transplantation of an organ or tissue from a donor to a genetically identical recipient. There will be no immunological reaction, which means there will be no transplant rejection.

Xenograft : Xenograft refers to the transplantation of organs or tissues from one species to another. The heart valve of a pig, for example, has been successfully transplanted into a person.

Split Transplant : A deceased donor's organ, such as the liver, can be split between two recipients, generally an adult and a youngster.

Domino Transplant : When the lungs are to be transplanted, it is easier to replace them together with the heart surgically. If the original heart of the recipient is in good condition, it can be transplanted into another person who needs one.

ABO-incompatible transplantation : The immune systems of infants and toddlers under the age of 12 months may not have fully formed. They are able to get organs from donors who are incompatible with them.

FAQs on Speech on Organ Donation

1. What is organ donation?

Giving an organ or a portion of an organ to be transplanted into another person is known as organ donation. Organ transplantation is the only way to preserve patients' lives and enhance their quality of life who are suffering from terminal organ failure. However, there is a mismatch between supply and demand for donated organs, resulting in the death of many people. Organ transplantation has steadily expanded during the last two decades, with great success in adolescents and young adults. However, the rising proportion of older transplant patients with associated morbidity poses a challenge. As a result of innovations and advancements in perioperative treatment, the outcomes of organ transplantation continue to improve.

2. Who can be an organ donor?

Anyone, regardless of age, race, or medical history, can be a potential donor. Medical specialists examine your medical history to see whether you are eligible to donate. More people can donate now than ever before thanks to recent advancements in transplantation.

Adults can also make living donations, which means they can choose to donate an organ, such as a kidney, or a portion of an organ, such as a liver, to someone who is in need.

3. Why is there a need for organ donation?

Organ donation is required since only 3000 individuals out of 1.5 lakh people in India who require a kidney obtain one, just 1 out of every 30 people receives a kidney, and 90% of those on the waiting list die without receiving a donor. Around 70% of liver transplants require a living donor, with the remaining 30% relying on cadaver (dead) donors. As a result, there is a pressing need to raise organ donation rates and provide people a second shot at life.

4. What is the situation of organ donation in India?

Organ transplantation is in high demand all across the world. India is likewise experiencing a severe organ scarcity, with little hope of finding a solution. Every year, it is estimated that 1.5 lakh people suffer from renal failure, with just 3000 receiving a transplant. Similarly, over 2 lakh individuals die each year from liver failure or cancer, and organ donors are rarely available to save them. It is the same with heart patients: there are only 15 hearts available for transplant for every 50,000 heart attack sufferers. As a result, massive programs to raise awareness about organ donation and close the gap between supply and demand are urgently needed in India. 

5. Where can I get an essay on organ donation?

Vedantu provides an essay on organ donation.  It goes through the importance of organ donation, different types of organ donation, the current situation of organ donation in India, and more. Professional educators create content that is easy for students to learn and remember. Vedantu also offers study materials and a variety of competitive exams to students in grades 1 through 12. The contents contain notes, important topics and questions, revision notes, and other things. On Vedantu, you may access all of these resources for free. To access any of these resources, students must first register on the Vedantu website. You may also sign up using the Vedantu smartphone app.

Open Access is an initiative that aims to make scientific research freely available to all. To date our community has made over 100 million downloads. It’s based on principles of collaboration, unobstructed discovery, and, most importantly, scientific progression. As PhD students, we found it difficult to access the research we needed, so we decided to create a new Open Access publisher that levels the playing field for scientists across the world. How? By making research easy to access, and puts the academic needs of the researchers before the business interests of publishers.

We are a community of more than 103,000 authors and editors from 3,291 institutions spanning 160 countries, including Nobel Prize winners and some of the world’s most-cited researchers. Publishing on IntechOpen allows authors to earn citations and find new collaborators, meaning more people see your work not only from your own field of study, but from other related fields too.

Brief introduction to this section that descibes Open Access especially from an IntechOpen perspective

Want to get in touch? Contact our London head office or media team here

Our team is growing all the time, so we’re always on the lookout for smart people who want to help us reshape the world of scientific publishing.

Home > Books > Organ Donation and Transplantation - Current Status and Future Challenges

Organ Donation and Transplantation: “Life after Death”

Submitted: 13 November 2017 Reviewed: 03 April 2018 Published: 25 July 2018

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.76962

Cite this chapter

There are two ways to cite this chapter:

From the Edited Volume

Organ Donation and Transplantation - Current Status and Future Challenges

Edited by Georgios Tsoulfas

To purchase hard copies of this book, please contact the representative in India: CBS Publishers & Distributors Pvt. Ltd. www.cbspd.com | [email protected]

Chapter metrics overview

2,194 Chapter Downloads

Impact of this chapter

Total Chapter Downloads on intechopen.com

Total Chapter Views on intechopen.com

Organ donation is defined as giving an organ or part of an organ to be transplanted into another person. Organ transplantation is the only option to save lives in patients affected by terminal organ failures and improve their quality of life. However, there is a disparity exists between the supply and demand of donated organs, leads to a loss of many lives. The number of organ transplantation have gradually increased in the last two decades and provide excellent results in children and young adults, and are challenging by the growing proportion of elderly transplant patients with co morbidity. The results of organ transplantation continue to improve, as a consequence of the innovations and the improvements in peri-operative management. This chapter describes organ donation and transplantation and its trends and challenges.

• organ donation
• psychosocial

Author Information

Kanmani job *.

• Amrita College of Nursing, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Kochi, India

Anooja Antony

*Address all correspondence to: [email protected]

1. Introduction

Organ donation is defined as giving an organ or part of an organ to be transplanted into another person. Organ transplantation is the only option to save lives in patients affected by terminal organ failures and improve their quality of life. However, there is a disparity exists between the supply and demand of donated organs, leads to a loss of many lives. The number of organ transplantation have gradually increased in the last two decades and provide excellent results in children and young adults, and are challenging by the growing proportion of elderly transplant patients with co morbidity. The results of organ transplantation continue to improve, as a consequence of the innovations and the improvements in peri-operative management.

Organ transplantation currently depends on the availability of human organs. Their scarcity means that there is a waiting list of almost 63,000 in the European Union, and over 100,000 people in the United States according to the recent survey. The process of obtaining organs for donation and transplantation purely depends on the resources of health services and by health professionals’ performance in potential donor identification and management tasks. However, in accordance with the current legislation it is mainly subjected to a personal or family decision, strongly mediated by psychosocial processes. Therefore, the need to analyze and intervene both in the practices of the professionals involved in the process of organ generation and in the attitudes of the general population need to stressed and addressed [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ].

2. Organ transplantation and organ donation: an overview

Organ transplantation involves the surgical implantation of an organ or section of an organ into a person whose own organ is failing. The donor organ may come from both deceased individual as well as from a living donor. The patients psychological and behavior aspect as well their emotional response and mental health and adherence to medical regimen should be assessed before and after organ transplantation. The living donor’s psychological response towards organ donation (most commonly for kidney and liver segment transplantation) is an important aspect to consider in the transplantation process.

Organ donation is defined as “giving an organ or part of an organ to be transplanted into another person” (Organ procurement of Transplant Network (OPTN), 2015), organ donation has the potential to save lives. The organs donated from one single donor can save up to eight lives. Organ transplantation may be one of the options left to sustain someone’s life. However, the disparity that exists between the supply and demand of donated organs, leads to a loss of many lives. Based on recent OPTN data, approximately 21 people will die each day while waiting for a transplant in the United States (US). Currently, 123, 358 people are awaiting organs and on the transplant list in the US with this number growing and the number of donated organs declining.

Asian Indians are more likely to have higher rates of having obesity and diabetes when compared with other Asian subgroups which make them at an increased risk of needing a donated organ [ 35 ]. These conditions can lead one to develop coronary artery disease and hypertension which then can lead to chronic kidney disease and other chronic illnesses. Patients who suffer from chronic kidney disease need regular dialysis which can ultimately lead them to organ transplantation to improve one’s quality of life. Also, conditions such as diabetes and obesity can be detrimental to one’s life and can lead to fatty liver disease which can lead to chronic liver disease requiring liver transplantation if the liver decompensates.

The development of organ transplantation in the second half of the 20th century has been a remarkable achievement. Recently; organ transplantation is one of the most effective options for those with an end-stage organ failure. Its success has been basically dependent on public awareness, support and active participation. Without these factors, the efficiency of organ transplantation and the consequent saving or extension of lives would have undoubtedly suffered adversely.

The number of patients in need of organ transplantation has increased at a rapid pace; in contrast, the number of available organs has increased only slightly. Expanded criteria for donor selection, such as older age, have resulted in more people who meet the criteria for brain death becoming organ donors although fewer organs are transplanted from each donor. Improvements in automobile and highway safety, as well as increased enforcement of gun control laws, have also contributed to a plateau in the number of young, healthy donors. Public education efforts that encourage organ donation may be effective in getting more people to sign organ donor cards, but most individuals who do so will never be in a position to become organ donors.

Faced with increasing numbers of patients who need transplantation, deaths on the waiting list, and a fixed number of available organs, some transplant programs are working to increase the number of transplants from living donors. Although living donation has always been an option for some types of transplants, many programs have been reluctant to promote it, as living donation requires invasive surgery on a healthy person with associated risks of morbidity and mortality. For example, since dialysis is an option for patients with end-stage renal disease, surgery on a healthy donor may be difficult to justify, despite the dialysis patient’s diminished quality of life.

The most important in organ donation is to maximize the psychological status and well-being of the donors before and after transplantation has become the foremost goal of all transplantation centres. The psychological issues that mainly concern with the living organ donation includes prevention of psychological harm, ensuring the donors are fully informed and decide to donate without coercion, monitoring donor psychosocial outcomes are intimately linked to the factors that historically served as barriers to use of organs from living donors. These barriers can be overcome by the motivating of the public and creating awareness and responsibility among oneself.

Organs that can be transplanted from the living donor includes one kidney, part of intestine, pancreas, islets of Langerhans, bone, part of liver, one testis, bone marrow and blood. The organ that can be transplanted from the deceased donor are heart, kidney, pancreas, stomach, hand, skin, blood vessels, lungs, liver, intestine, testis, cornea and heart valve.

Autograft: Transplanting a person’s tissues from one site and use it in another site of his body and is called autograft. For example, removal of skin from the legs and using it for damaged skin face or other exposed part.

Allograft: Transplant of an organ between two genetically non identical individuals, it is called allograft. Due to the genetic difference, the donor’s organ will be treated as foreign by the recipient and will try to destroy it. This is called s rejection.

Isograft: Transplant of organ/tissue from a donor to genetically identical recipient is called isograft. There will not be any immune response hence no transplant rejection.

Xenograft: Transplantation of organ/tissues forms one species to another species. For example, the heart valve of pig is transplanted successfully to human.

Split transplant: An organ like liver retrieved from the deceased donor can be divided between two recipients, usually an adult and a child.

Domino transplant: When the lungs are to be transplanted, surgically it is easier to replace them along with the heart. If the recipient’s original heart is healthy, it can be transplanted into another recipient in the need of one.

ABO incompatible transplantation: The immune system of young children aged below 12 months might have developed fully. They can receive organs from incompatible donors.

Live donors: A living person, mentally and physically healthy can donate one of a paired organ, part of an organ or a tissue. The organs donated are kidneys, part of live, one of the lung, part of small intestine, skin, bone marrow, one of the testis and one of the ovaries. Live donor can either be related or unrelated.

Unrelated donors: For altruistic reasons, a person can donate one of his organs to an unrelated donor. According to TOHO act, the unrelated donor should be known to the recipient and have some obligation to him. It has to be established that there is no monetary transaction between them. But in many other countries, even a stranger can donate one of his organs to a needy person on altruistic grounds.

Deceased donors: Organs are harvested from brain dead person whose respiration and circulation are maintained artificially. Brain dead has to be certified by a team of doctors nominated by Government I every organ retrieval centers.

Paired exchange: When a living donor is not compatible with the related recipient, but may be compatible for another recipient. That second recipient related donor is compatible to the first recipient, then permission can be granted for transplantation. The surgery for all four donors and recipient are conducted simultaneously and anonymity is kept until after the transplant.

Spousal donation: A spouse can donate an organ to the partner. It has to be recorded that the couple is legally married.

3. Current scenario: trends

Despite advances in medicine and technology, and increased awareness of organ donation and transplantation, the gap between supply and demand continues to widen. Each year, the number of people in the waiting list is increasing in both donor and transplant. The donation statistics according to OPTN Annual report shows that in 2016, total of 41,335 organs were donated. It can be either deceased or living and four out of five donations came from deceased donors and four out of ten from living donors. According to the report by OTPN 2018, 115,033 people need life-saving organ transplant, of those 74,926 people are the active waiting list candidates.

The real reason behind a living person’s interest in donating one’s organ is important to determine but it is often difficult. Now days, money has become the motivation for donation. The relationships also have played a great role in increasing donation rates. The shortage of available organs can be reduced if; people choose to donate their organs after they die. If more people did that the issue regarding organ shortage can be minimized.

The trend is expected to accelerate each year. Many organ procurement and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations actively participate to increase the donation rates. The organizations take various to steps against traditional social taboos.

The approach, known as “donation after cardiac death” (DCD), usually involves patients who have suffered brain damage, such as from a car accident or a stroke. After family members have made the difficult decision to discontinue a ventilator or other life-sustaining treatment, organ-bank representatives talk to them about donation. Sometimes, the donor is suffering from an incurable disease also end up with the decision of organ donation.

According to U.S Department of Health and Human Services, more than 1,23,000 men, women and children currently needed life-saving organ transplants every 10 minutes and another name is added to the national organ transplant waiting list. In 2014, more than 8500 deceased donors made possible approximately 24,000 organ transplants. In addition, there were nearly 6000 transplants from living donors. In India, nationally with a population of 1.2 billion people, the statistics stands 0.08 persons as organ donor populations. Mrithasanjeevani, Kerala network of organ sharing which began in 2012, also states that the need for organ transplantation is high as the patients in waiting list is increasing day by day who requires organ transplantation.

The need for organ has gone up substantially all over the world. India also suffers from acute organ shortage with little to no solution for this issue. It is estimated that every year 1.5 lakh people suffer from renal failure out of which only 3000 people get donors. Similarly, every year around 2 lakh people die of liver failure or cancer and rarely get any help in the form of organ donors. It is the same for heart patients, for every 50,000 heart attack patients there are only 15 hearts available for transplant. Therefore, there is an urgent need for widespread campaigns to spread awareness about organ donation in India and to bridge the gap between supply and demand. The numbers that are mentioned here are estimates and real numbers could be far more than this, it is scary because this means very few people get relief and get a second chance in life.

The main reasons for organ shortage in India are mainly ignorance and lack of knowledge. People are not well informed enough about the benefits of organ donation. Today social media and so many other forums can promote the positives of organ donation and how it will save so many lives if more people register themselves for organ donation. The reason for organ shortage is myth and superstition. Many people do not want to donate their organs even after death because of so many myths and superstition they are instilled with. People with existing medical condition or old people, who wish to donate, do not donate thinking they are not fit or eligible. Almost everyone can donate some part or the other unless you have any extreme medical condition.

The need for organ donation is necessary because out of the 1.5 lakh people who need kidney in India only 3000 people receive them, only 1 out of 30 people receive kidney and 90% of people in the waiting list die without getting any donor. Around 70% liver transplants are dependent on a live donor but 30% dependent on cadaver (corpse) donations. Hence, there is an urgent need to increase the organ donation rates and give a person a second chance in their life.

4. Challenges in organ donation

As far as the challenges concerned it includes mainly donor’s motives for donation, the predominant ways in which donors arrive at the decision to donate, and the donors’ psychological status and its relationship to their fitness as donors.

4.1. Pre-donation challenges

4.1.1. donor’s motives.

Most donors are likely to be motivated by multiple factors. These factors include intrinsic factors (e.g., desires to relieve the suffering of another or to act in according to the religious convictions) and extrinsic factors (e.g., the social pressures or perceived norms) that may operate simultaneously. The particular combination of motivational forces will also differ depending on whether and how the donor is related to the recipient.

Among living related donors, it has long been assumed that family members or emotional partners are motivated primarily for saving the lives of their loved ones. Such motives are indeed the most commonly expressed feelings, as noted in a variety of studies over the past 30 years. Among nondirected living donors (individuals donating to unrelated patients whom the donors did not select)(NDLDs), it was identified as the altruistic/humanitarian motives, along with beliefs that the donor’s self-worth would be improved, and feelings of moral and religious obligation or self- identity.

4.1.2. Donor’s decision-making

The motivation for the organ donation is purely on the donor’s decision of organ donation and it may be influenced by many factors including the relationship to the recipients. Decision-making swiftness may indicate the type of decision being made. There appear to be two decision-making approaches that include the moral decision making and the rational decision making. “Moral decision-making” involves awareness that one’s actions can affect another; ascription of responsibility to oneself; acceptance of the social/moral norm governing the behavior; and taking action consistent with that norm. Because moral decision-making does not involve the costs and benefits of a given behavior but, instead, is based on perceived norms governing that behavior, it is likely to lead to non- deliberative, instantaneous decisions. In contrast, “rational” decision-making includes various steps that focus on gathering relevant information, evaluating alternatives, selecting an alternative, and implementing the decision.

4.1.3. Support

It includes mainly the assessment of the donor’s available physical, financial and emotional support. It is necessary to identify whether the donor have someone to provide care in the recovery period, have sufficient financial support and so on. This important to avoid distress if the donor develops any complications. Finally, does the donor have the support of significant others for being a donor, or is he or she choosing to donate over the objections of persons who have a legitimate interest in the outcome of an autonomous decision.

4.1.4. Family attitudes toward donation

Spouse and family attitudes about donation should also be explored. Collateral interviews with significant others is necessary, especially those who will be providing tangible support to the donor during the recovery period, should be conducted whenever possible. Conflicts between potential donors and significant others should be addressed and, ideally, resolved prior to surgery itself in order to avoid conflicts later. Family members should provide a good understanding of the donor’s wishes and motives, even if they agree to disagree to the donor’s decision.

4.1.5. Behavioral and psychological health

The behavioral and psychological health of the donor should also be considered before donation. It is important to identify donor’s lifestyle is sufficiently healthy to reduce unnecessary risk for both donor and recipient. Many potential donors may have some unhealthy behaviors, such as moderate obesity or smoking. It is necessary to identify that there is sufficient time for the donor to reduce risks (e.g., lose weight, stop smoking). Moreover, it needs to be taken care of that the donor is emotionally stable to cope with stresses which may come up before, during, and after the donation. Hence it is important to identify psychological and behavioral status of the donor or else it may affect the quality of life.

4.1.6. Donor-recipient relationship

The relationship between the donor and recipient is a complex matter. Even when both parties are agree for donation and transplant, family dynamics may be complicated, and other family members may assertively involve themselves in the decision-making process. The donor may have unrealizable expectations that transplant will alter his or her relationship with the recipient. The health care team should not expect an ideal relationship in which all interactions between donor and recipient are harmonious. However, obvious tensions and overt psychological issues should be addressed. Joint interviews, involving both donor and recipient, should be avoided early in the evaluation process in order to preserve privacy and give the potential donor the opportunity to express reservations or “opt out” gracefully.

4.1.7. Diversity issues

Non directed donors may have diversity concerns that may affect the organ donation. The potential donors should be assessed for comfort with donation to recipients of different genders, races, religions, sexual orientations, nationalities, ages, underlying diseases, and lifestyles. Donors who express objections, fears, or concerns about who might receive their organ may need to be deferred until they can receive counseling.

4.1.8. Psychological status of potential donors

The potential donor’s psychological status is of greatest concern for donation and transplantation. Concerns have been particularly high in case of unrelated donation (either directed to a specific patient, or NDLD): the willingness or desire to donate to a stranger has been historically viewed with suspicion and as likely to reflect significant psychopathology. There is no doubt that some potential donors will be psychologically poor candidates to serve as donors.

4.1.9. Post-donation challenges

The donors’ perceptions of their physical functional, psychological, and social well-being were found to be either nonsignificantly different from or significantly better than levels reported in the general population. The post challenges mainly includes recipient death or graft loss, donor medical complications, donor history of mood or other psychiatric problems, and poor donor relationships with recipient or family. The other factor is that it may affect the donor’s quality of life if any complication arises.

The post transplantation challenges are many which include minimizing rejection risks, immunosuppression, organ shortage, handling of the stressors of transplantation, psychosocial adaptation and psychological disorders and so on.

4.1.10. Minimizing rejection risks

The twin conditions of antibody sensitization and antibody-mediated rejection remain challenging and frustrating to treat. The recent drugs which are used to desensitize patients or reverse antibody-mediated rejection, especially chronic antibody mediated rejection is totally unsatisfactory. Development of therapies those are more effective and less toxic should be made available. Recent regimens used for antibody desensitization and reversal of antibody-mediated rejection include plasmapheresis, immunoglobulin (IVIG), and rituximab, an anti-chimeric, anti-CD20 antibody. Recently, the proteasome inhibitor Velcade has also been reported to reverse refractory antibody rejection. Eculizumab, a humanized anti-C5 monoclonal antibody appears to protect the renal allograft despite the presence of donor-specific antibodies (DSA). None of these agents have been tested in rigorous studies.

4.1.11. Immunosuppression

This is one of the major challenges after organ transplantation. Many studies have suggested that most of the late graft loss occurs because of immunologic reasons, frequently antibody-mediated. So the approach of minimizing immunosuppression is necessary with the present drugs to reduce toxicities may actually be helpful in the long-term survival of the graft. The toxicities are minimized by allowing more grafts to be rejected by immune mechanisms. Hence, development of effective agents that lack long-term toxicities so that we can maintain optimum immunosuppression over the long-term.

4.1.12. Stressors after transplantation

In the perioperative period, the focus is on the patient’s physical recovery, with possible rejection episodes and other medical complications causing anxiety and emotional strain. Within the first days after transplantation, a postoperative delirium can occur. The patient can present with symptoms of mental confusion, language disturbances, and occasional hallucinations and delusions are often a frightening experience to patients and their families. Acute brain dysfunction can occur in intensive care patients and patients after surgery. The corticosteroids which are administered for immunosuppression cause these problems. Some of the patients experience problems in accepting the new organ from another individual and suffer with feeling of guilt towards the donor which, in turn, can increase psychological stress and nonadherence [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ].

In the long-term postoperative period, medication side effects and associated comorbidities become central stressors impeding patient’s life quality. Most common comorbidities seen are infections, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, lipometabolic disorders, adipositas, cardiovascular diseases, oncological diseases, osteoporosis, and chronic kidney failure [ 12 , 13 ]. Furthermore, psychiatric symptoms (e.g., depression, anxiety, agitation, psychosis) and neurological symptoms (e.g., sleep disturbances, cognitive impairment, delirium) can occur as neurotoxic side effects in patients receiving immunosuppressive drugs.

Faced with the multiple health risks, patients often continue to experience anxiety and worries regarding possible retransplantation, serious comorbidities, and death. Even patients in good physical health are confronted with severe challenges, for example, regaining their previously lost or restricted social roles as family members and partners (including sexual activity) and returning to work or taking up other meaningful activities. Financial constraints and legal disputes with health or pension insurance agencies constitute other possible sources of psychological strain.

5. Psychosocial adaptation and psychological disorders

After the transplantation, the psychosocial burden more severe in preoperative period than postoperative period. Nevertheless, patients themselves have to demonstrate considerable coping skills. In the best case, transplant patients learn to adapt to their new situation, often by reevaluating life goals and by focusing on more positive consequences, for example, personal growth. On the other hand, unsuccessful readjustment can lower the quality of life and psychiatric morbidity. The most common psychological disorders among patients before and after transplantation are affective and anxiety disorders.

The literature review shows that prevalence of depression in 20–25% of cases before and after kidney transplantation. Less information is available concerning patients receiving other organs. Prior to and following lung transplantation, depression seems to be prevalent in approximately 30% of patients. Hence these show that the depression is a major challenge after transplantation. These issues can be reduced by personal and social resources (resilience factors), that is, favorable coping skills, self-efficacy, sense of coherence, optimism, and social support.

6. Factors affecting donor’s motivation

There are many factors affecting donor’s motivation which includes feelings of love and responsibility, spiritual motives, and greater success rate of organ donation.

6.1. Feelings of love and responsibility

Motives for donating organ to their relative patients were that they tended to do something for their loved ones. In fact, they feel responsible for their problems. They do not treat others’ problems with indifference and attempted to do whatever they could for resolving the problems experienced by transplant recipients. It is considered as their own responsibilities to help them to get rid of their problems. The feel like they are the ones who need to support their patients.

6.2. Close and constant companionship

Another factor affecting the participants’ feeling of responsibility for donation to their family members was close and constant companionship with recipients. This close and constant companionship made the participants to clearly understand the recipients’ conditions and hence, it had resulted in their decision on organ donation in order to alleviate recipients’ problems. This close and constant companionship with patients help family members understand patients’ problems well and increase their degree of commitment to do something for patient’s pain and discomfort. They also noted that this had made them experience deeper shared emotions with their patients and hence, required them to feel responsible for minimizing their patient’s problems.

6.3. Inability to tolerate recipient’s discomfort

Another motive for organ donation was one’s difficulty in tolerating recipient’s discomfort. Love for their sick family members had made the participants feel responsible and decide on doing something for solving their patient’s problems. Their patient’s pain, suffering and discomfort cause a great inconvenience and irritation which lead them to the decision of organ donation. They hoped that organ donation alleviate their patient’s problems [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 36 ].

6.4. Spiritual motives for donation

Religious beliefs played a significant role in motivating to organ donation. Some of them believed that donation was a way for expiating their past sins. They referred to faith in God, reliance on Him, and hope for a successful transplant as the important motives for organ donation. Some of them even accused themselves of causing their family members to develop organ failure and believed that donation was a way for alleviating their feelings of guilt. Such a practice was particularly common among the parents of sick children. Some of them considered donation as a God-approved practice, and noted that God has helped them donate their organs. They noted that they donated their organs for gratifying God and believed that he sees it and help them in all bad situations.

6.5. Greater success rate of organ transplantation

The category is the greater success of organ transplantation. In other words, obtaining information and realizing the greater benefits of organ transplantation had motivated the participants to opt for organ donation. Some of them reported that they had never thought about donation until obtaining information from their patient’s physicians. However, after obtaining adequate information, they had made an irreversible decision about organ donation. Accordingly, a major motive for organ donation was the lower likelihood of organ rejection.

7. Measures to overcome challenges for organ donation

The decisions regarding organ donation based on the personal beliefs (religious, cultural, family, social and body integrity) levels of knowledge about organ donation and previous interaction with the health care team. Many maintained positive attitudes to organ donation despite significant reservations about the organ donation process. Resistance to organ donation found to be less in the case of living donation for family.

There are some religious beliefs that can have both positive and negative influences, these often stemmed from uncertainty or misrepresentation of religious edicts. One solution would be to actively engage religious leaders in the transplant community, especially when it has been reported that, across the major religions, there are very few cases where organ donation can be seen to be inconsistent with religious beliefs. Religious leaders should be made available in hospitals and other transplantation setting to assist families in making decisions regarding organ donation and potentially to remove the misperceptions. Staff members who are involved in approaching families to request consent for donation should be part of the awareness programs and resources about religious concerns. Similarly, cultural sensitivity to issues such as apprehensiveness to discuss death among certain groups or individuals and the importance to many of death rituals may improve dialog regarding organ donation.

Studies have shown that engaging some minority groups in the health care system and creating a sense of belonging and ownership can improve compliance with organ donation. As a consequence, more efforts should be made to create positive interactions within the health care team members, especially for minority groups, to improve the organ donation rates. Although many of the studies have showed that higher socio-economic status and education were associated with a stronger willingness to be an organ donor. Some of the strong reservations held, even among those with generally positive views towards donation, such as concerns that agreeing to donation would discourage doctors from caring so much about saving their lives in case of an emergency or that it would result in the premature removal of their organs or indeed prevent them from having an open coffin at their funerals, are examples of very real barriers that can be readily addressed through information. Through a proper awareness and motivation the donation rates can be improved which can save many lives.

7.1. Psychological care

Psychological consultation is essential for all disease stages enabling patients to better cope with their extraordinarily stressful situation. A need for psychological care was found in up to 50% of transplant patients. Educational and supportive therapies are of utmost importance but also cognitive-behavioral interventions including relaxation techniques can also be considered. Less common methods like hypnotherapy and “Quality of Life Therapy” have also been utilized for overcoming the challenges.

Moreover, family members as well as caregivers of transplant patients show increased psychological strain before and after transplantation. Family counseling, and psychotherapeutic support, can help reduce psychological strain, thus also maintaining the valuable social support provided by care givers and family members of the transplant patient. Henceforth, the family and care givers should also be considered in psychosocial evaluation to overcome the problems.

7.2. Alternative methods to increase donation

In view of ethical, legal and political issues, it was deemed important to obtain some opinion about alternative methods to increase organ donation rates. Financial incentives were given to increase organ donation. Many in both donor and non-donor groups were given a reasonable incentive. Education and dissemination of information about donation and transplantation was important to increase organ donation rates. There was nearly universal agreement that implied consent (presumed consent) should not be tried. The use of financial incentives was not markedly opposed (some accepted the idea of funeral expense reimbursement), although there was not strong support either. In general, methods to increase organ donation had not been well thought out by either donors or nondonors indicating, perhaps, that the assumption of altruism or motivation is the best way to increase the donation rates.

8. Responsibilities of nurses in organ donation and transplantation

Organ and tissue transplant nurses need comprehensive and scientific knowledge. They include the evaluation and management of deceased donors, transplant recipients, potential donors or live donors, teaching and counseling of transplant recipients and live donors related to self-care management, healthy life and a peaceful death when this is imminent. This is important in order to improve the posttransplant quality of life.

Nurses have important role in the development of a successful transplantation program. They are key members of the team that works to deliver care to patients and relatives, through the use of technological, logistic and human resources, with a view to coordination, care, education and research on organ and tissue donation and transplantation. Therefore, the nurses need adequate knowledge on the principles of good ethical principles and should have resources available for them to assess patient’s risks and social issues related to organ transplants and donation. The researchers hope that the future studies will encourage further researches on the role and responsibilities of nurses.

9. Conclusion

The organ donation decision is a complex one, based strongly on personal beliefs. There are some factors, such as religious and cultural beliefs, that are seemingly intractable and are often cited as reasons for a refusal to donate. In this chapter, it is shown that these have often been found to be tied in with more complex issues such as a distrust of the medical system, misunderstandings about religious stances and ignorance about the donation process. Interventions to better engage the community, including disadvantaged and minority groups, to foster trust and provide information represent promising opportunities of promoting organ donation in the future.

Donor motives directly contribute to their decision to donate, is not uniform and is influenced by multiple factors. Majority of the donors were relationship oriented donor, whose major motives were desires to relieve the suffering & save the life of their loving ones. Creating awareness to the organ donation will directly influence the donor motives and willingness. By deriving the motives many more intervention to improve the willingness to be a living organ donor can be evolved. Recruitment of living donors represents a medical and moral responsibility. The possibility of organ removal from healthy donor to a recipient needs great inner motivation. Saving one’s life is divine.

The psycho social assessment must be made as a routine part of the nursing process. These assessments are meant to identify patients at risk for poor outcomes, provide guidelines for their management and improve the post-transplant quality of life [ 6 ]. “Because donated organs are a severely limited resource, the best potential, recipients should be identified. The probability of a good outcome must be highly emphasized to achieve the maximum benefit for all transplants” (OPTN/UNOS Ethics committee General Considerations in Assessment for Transplant Candidacy White paper-2010).

• 1. United Network for Organ Sharing. 1999 Annual Report of the U. S. Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients and the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.: Transplant Data 1989–1998. Richmond, Va: US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Research Services Administration, Office of Sponsored Projects, Division of Transportation, and United Network for Organ Sharing; 2000
• 2. Alexander JW, Zola JC. Expanding the donor pool: Use of marginal donors for solid organ transplantation. Clinical Transplantation. 1996; 10 :1-19
• 3. Kumar A, Mandhani A, Verma BS, et al. Expanding the living related donor pool in renal transplantation: Use of marginal donors. Journal of Urology. 2000a; 163 :33-36
• 4. Mandal AK, Kalligonis AN, Ratner LE. Expanded criteria donors: Attempts to increase the renal donor transplant pool. Advances in Renal Replacement Therapy. 2000a; 7 :117-113
• 5. Simmons RG et al. Gift of Life: The Social and Psychological Impact of Organ Transplantation. NY: Wiley; 1977. Reprinted with additions, Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books, 1987
• 6. Corley MC et al. Attitude, self-image, and quality of life of living kidney donors. Nephrology Nursing Journal. 2000; 27 (1):43-52
• 7. Goldman LS. Liver transplantation using living donors: Preliminary donor psychiatric outcomes. Psychsomatics. 1993; 34 (3):235-240
• 8. Pradel FG et al. Exploring donors’ and recipients’ attitudes about living donor kidney transplantation. Progress in Transplantation. 2003; 13 (3):203-210
• 9. Fellner CH. Renal transplantation and the living donor. Decision and consequences. Psychother Psychosomat. 1976/77; 27 :139-143
• 10. Toronyi E et al. Attitudes of donors towards organ transplantation in living related kidney transplantations. Transplant International. 1998; 11 (Suppl 1):S481-S483
• 11. Henderson AJZ et al. The living anonymous kidney donor: Lunatic or saint? American Journal of Transplantation. 2003; 3 :203-213
• 12. Jacobs CL et al. Twenty-two nondirected kidney donors: An update on a single center’s experience. American Journal of Transplantation. 2004; 4 :1110-1116
• 13. Matas AJ et al. Nondirected donation of kidneys from living donors. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2000; 343 (6):433-436
• 14. Olbrisch ME et al. Psychological, Social and Behavioral Characteristics of Living Donor Candidates for Adult Liver Transplantation. Biennial Meeting on Psychiatric, Psychosocial and Ethical Issues in Organ Transplantation. Santa Monica, CA; February, 2005
• 15. Crowley-Matoka M et al. Long-term quality of life issues among adult-to-pediatric living donors: A qualitative exploration. American Journal of Transplantation. 2004; 4 :744-750
• 16. Karliova M et al. Living-related liver transplantation from the view of the donor: A 1-year follow-up survey. Transplantation. 2002; 73 (11):1799-1804
• 17. De Graaf Olson W, Bogetti-Dumlao A. Living donors’ perception of their quality of health after donation. Progress in Transplantation. 2001; 11 (2):108-115
• 18. Beavers KL et al. The living donor experience: Donor health assessment and outcomes after living donor liver transplantation. Liver Transplant. 2001; 7 (11):943-947
• 19. Lennerling A et al. Becoming a living kidney donor. Transplantation. 2003; 76 :1243-1247
• 20. Pradel FG. Exploring donor’s and receipient’s attitudes about living door kidney transplantation. Progress in Transplantation. 2003; 13 (3):203-210
• 21. Smith MD. Living related kidney donors. A multicenter study of donor education, socioeconomic adjustment and rehabilitation. American Journal of Kidney Diseases. 1986; 8 (4):223-233
• 22. Jacobs CL. Expanding living donor options. Minnesota Medicine. 2001; 84 :46-48
• 23. Switzer GE. Understaning donor;s motivations. A study of unrelated bone arrow donors. Social Science & Medicine. 1999; 45 (1):137-147
• 24. Rosenthal JT. Expanded criteria for cadaver organ donation in renal transplant. The Urologic Clinics of North America. 1994; 21 :283-292
• 25. Shiel AGR. Transplantation and society. In: Ginns LC, Cosimi A, Morris PJ, editors. Transplantation. Malden, MA: Blackwell Science; 1999. pp. 897-913
• 26. Callender CO, Bay AS, Miles PV, Yeager CL. A national minority organ/tissue transplant education program: The first step in the evolution of a national minority strategy and minority transplant equity in the USA. Transplantation Proceedings. 1995; 27 :1441-1443
• 27. Surman OS et al. Live organ donation: Social context, clinical encounter, and the psychology of communication. Psychosomatics. 2005; 46 :1-6
• 28. Papachristou C et al. Motivation for living-donor liver transplantation from the donor’s perspective: An in-depth qualitative research study. Transplantation. 2004; 78 :1506-1514
• 29. Haljamäe U. Remaining experiences of living kidney donors more than 3 yr after early recipient graft loss. Clinical Transplantation. 2003; 17 :503-510
• 30. Hamburger J, Crosnier J. Moral and ethical problems in transplantation. Rapaport F, Daussert J. Human Transplantation. NY: Grune & Stratton; 1968. pp. 68
• 31. Sadler HH et al. The living, genetically unrelated, kidney donor. Seminars in Psychiatry. 1971; 3 :86-101
• 32. Walter M et al. Psychosocial outcome of living donors after living donor liver transplantation: A pilot study. Clinical Transplantation. 2002; 16 :339-344
• 33. Fukunishi I et al. Psychiatric disorders before and after living-related transplantation. Psychosomatics. 2001; 42 (4):337-343
• 34. Crowley-Matoka M, Switzer G. Nondirected living donation: A survey of current trends and practices. Transplantation. 2005; 79 (5):515-519
• 35. Boparai J, Davila H, Chandalia M. Cardiovascular disease in Asian Indians living in the United States. Current Cardiovascular Risk Reports. 2011; 5 :240-245
• 36. Ji WR, Frederick B, Hsin CY. Trends in prevalence of Type 2 diabetes in Asians Versus Whites results from the United States National Health Interview Survey 1997-2008. Diabetes Care. Feb 2011; 34 (2):353-357

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Continue reading from the same book

Organ donation and transplantation.

Published: 25 July 2018

By Bulang He, Xiuwu Han and Michael A. Fink

2513 downloads

By Félix Cantarovich

2007 downloads

By Alyssa Green, Peter G. Thomas, Rebecca Wilde-Onia,...

1246 downloads

IntechOpen Author/Editor? To get your discount, log in .

Discounts available on purchase of multiple copies. View rates

Local taxes (VAT) are calculated in later steps, if applicable.

Support: [email protected]

• Skip to main content

India’s Largest Career Transformation Portal

Essay on Organ Donation for Students in English [Easy Words]

January 6, 2021 by Sandeep

Essay on Organ Donation: One of the most honourable and extremely noble acts of humanity is organ donation. It helps to bring life to a needy person. Organs and tissues are extracted and transplanted from a dead person on to the receiving person. The family’s consent is sought and legal formalities cleared to conduct organ donation. Liver, heart, retina, kidneys can be donated post death. It is a highly complicated process handled by experts through intense precision.

Essay on Organ Donation 500 Words in English

We have provided Organ Donation Essay in English, suitable for class 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10.

Organ donation is characterised as the transplantation of part of an organ into another individual. Organ donation is the only way to save lives and improve patients’ quality of life affected by terminal organ failures. The number of organ donations has steadily risen in the last two decades. It provides outstanding outcomes in children and young adults, which is difficult due to the increasing proportion of patients with co-morbidity transplants.

Importance of Organ Donation

Organ and tissue donation is the most significant charitable act of kindness. As long as the individual is well enough, there are no age restrictions on who may be an organ donor. Kidneys, heart, liver, lungs and pancreas are the frequently donated organs, while eye cornea, bone, skin, and heart valves are the transplantable tissues. Through this way, a single donor will save a variety of people’s lives. Donated organs provide an outstanding instrument to perform medical study and experiments.

Many notable, beneficial medical advances may result from the donation of the organs. Organ donation will also aid in the biotechnology sector. The demand for organ donations continues to outperform the supply of organs. Every day, fifteen people die because of a lack of transplantable organs; and every 18 minutes a new name is added to the waiting list for transplants.

Different Types of Organ Donation

• Heart Donation: A donated heart helps patients battle life-threatening heart disease, including congenital abnormalities and defective valves. Heart recipients have a retention rate of 70 percent or more for five years and can expect a significant increase in their quality of life.
• Kidney Donation: A donated kidney will make a big difference in someone with kidney failure’s life. Instead of spending several hours in dialysis three or four days a week, a recipient of the kidney will live a safer, happier life with a functioning kidney lasting 12 years on average.
• Liver Donation: A donated liver can save someone’s life from liver failure, which can happen unexpectedly or overtime because of long-term disease or illness. More than 70 percent of the donated livers last for five years, and half still function after 20 years.
• Lung Donation: A donated lung (or lungs) may be a life-saving gift to those with damaged or defective lungs. Damage can be caused by several diseases, including cystic fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); a single or double-lung donation may become the only hope of survival for anyone.
• Pancreas Donation: A donated pancreas may be used to restore average insulin production and dramatically improve their quality of life if someone has trouble controlling blood sugar.
• Intestine Donation: Intestinal donations are used to avoid life-threatening complications in patients with bowel failure. The number of diseases can cause intestinal failure, meaning that both children and adults can be affected.
• Cornea Donation: Cornea donations are the most common and useful transplant and can restore vision after other treatments have failed to alleviate painful swelling or correct vision.

Types of Donors

• Live Donors: A mentally and physically stable living person may donate either of a paired organ, part of an organ or tissue. The donated organs are the kidneys, one of the lungs, a small intestine part, skin, bone marrow and one of the ovaries.
• Unrelated Donors: A person may donate one of his organs to an unrelated donor, for altruistic reasons. The unknown donor should be known to the recipient, and have some responsibility to him, according to TOHO act. This must be provided that they are not interested in a monetary transaction.
• Deceased Donors: Organ is harvested from brain dead people whose respiration and circulation are artificially maintained. Brain dead has to be approved by a team of physicians appointed by the Government for every organ recovery centre.
• Paired Exchange: When a living donor is not compatible with the corresponding recipient but may be compatible with another recipient. The second donor linked to the recipient is compatible with the first recipient, so permission for donation can be given.

Organ Donation: Importance Information Research Paper

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

Organ transplant is a form of surgery in which an injured, diseased, or damaged body organ is removed from a patient and replaced with a healthy organ, which has been donated (Elgert 4). This concept emerged in the 19 th century and has been practiced for a long time now (about 50 years now). Majorly, several vital body organs can be transplanted.

The most common body organs being transplanted today include the heart, liver, kidney, and lungs (Elgert 4). Across the globe, more than 1 million organ transplants happen every year with the US performing more than 20,000 cases. Today, the success rates of organ transplants have been on the increase although donors are reducing drastically.

Just like any other surgery, organ transplantation has some risks and complications. Some of the most common complications include infections, excessive bleeding, and damages (Elgert 32). For instance, in kidney transplantation, the urethra may be damaged when the doctor is carrying out the surgery (NHS Organ Donor).

Because of such complications, the patient may not survival for long and hence the process is deemed not successful. The ability to reduce complications and ensure that organ transplantation happens in a success manner may increase the chances of a patient surviving; this is what is known as successful surgery.

Success rates refer to the percentage of all organ transplantation surgeries that produce favorable outcomes (Elgert 35). The success rates of organ transplant surgery have increased and improved in a big way.

However, despite of these remarkable improvements, there is also a growing demand for organs and tissues as the supply has been going down every day. Because of the growing shortage of body organ, many needy patients do not have adequate supply and as a result, there are many situations where patients are dying before they get willing donors.

Because of the improved and advanced technology, the practice of organ transplant is becoming more popular and acceptable in the society. Currently, the advancement in technology has contributed to improved ways of preserving organs and better surgical methods in the health care (Elgert 67). Notably, better and improved health care has contributed to increase in success rates of organ and tissue transplant across the world.

According to research, the success rates of organ transplant have improved in a big way. In fact, Sir Madgi Yacoub a senior researcher at a donations center describes the practice of organ transfer as “one of the greatest success stories of the latter half of the 20 th century (NHS Organ Donor).

This has greatly been attributed to the advanced technology and quality patience care. The UK organ transplants statistics show that, transplants surgery have been increasing every year.

To demonstrate this facts, the newly released report on organ transplants reveal that at least 94 per cent of kidney donors are still leaving very healthy, more than 88 per cent of transplanted kidneys from people who are dead are running and functioning healthy, 86 per cent of liver transfers are still performing well, and 84 per cent of all heart transfers are still doing well too (NHS Organ Donor).

According to this report, many factors have contributed to increase in successful rates of organ transplants. One of the factors is the improved patient management, which is getting better every year (NHS Organ Donor).

Recently, the center of Scientific Registry of Transplant (SRTR) provided data concerning the success rates of patients who have received organ transplant in the US (New York Organ Donor Network, Inc).

According to (SRTR) research center, the survival of patients who have already received organ transplant is deemed as the best measure of assessing the success rates of transplant. Indeed, by focusing closely on the data provided, it is evident that the success rates have increased over the years as portrayed by the “history and success rate of organ transplantation” (Hakim and Vassilios 7).

The history of organ transfer will further prove how the success rates of organ transplantations have improved in the recent years. In the year 1999, the number of individuals who required organ transplant stood at 55, 000 people (Hakim and Vassilios 47). However, today the demand for this service has increased over the years since more people have developed trust with this practice after witnessing high level of success rates.

Because of the improved rates, many patients have been demanding for this service. According to experts, “improved survival rates and the expectation that organ replacement will enhance quality of life encouraged more doctors and their patients with organ failure to opt for transplantation” (Hakim and Vassilios 241).

According to history, the practice of organ transplant is a concept that started a few decades ago. The first successful organ transplant took place in the 1954 where a patient received a kidney transplant in the US (Hakim and Vassilios 97).

In 1967, the first case of heart transplant took place in South Africa and the heart function was effective for 18 days (Patel and Rushefsky 34). In the year 1981, a successful heart transfer showed some improvement where a patient who received a heart transfer survived for 5 years.

During 1990s, the practice of transplantation surgery became more popular and more than 2,500 heart transplants were performed in the US alone (Patel and Rushefsky 65). Along with cases of heart transfer, increased cases of other organ transplants were reported around the globe. In the year 1997, the record of success in organ transplantation went high.

For kidney transplants, a statics record of 95 per cent survival rates was recorded in a period of one year (Patel and Rushefsky, 2002). To demonstrate the increase in the survival rates of organs transfer, a study by United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) portrayed an impressive improvement from 7 per cent to 12 per cent successful rates of lung, heart, and liver transplants between the year 1992 and 1994 (Patel and Rushefsky 22).

This and many similar investigations have proved that the success rates of organ transplant vary from one transplant centre to another (Patel and Rushefsky, 42). Notably, centers that have had low success rates are those centers, which have been reported to carry out a small number of organ transplants (Patel and Rushefsky, 55).

On the other hand, transfer centers that carry out large numbers of organ transplants have been reported to produce statistical numbers showing high success rates. Over the years, this level of successful rates have increased for both low-volume and high volume transplant centers. For both centers, an increase success rate of 50 per cent has been recorded in the recent years (Patel and Rushefsky, 79).

Towards the start of this decade, major developments have taken place in the health care institutions. As such, success rates have also improved and many patients are now being refereed for these vital services (Elgert 4).

Because of the ever-growing demand, many countries around the world are also creating new organ transplant centers. However, with the increased successful rates of organ transplants, there has been reduced supply of organs (Egendorf 14). It has been reported that, the demand for donor organs has also increased, as people are not willing to donate their organs.

Among the many factors that have contributed to improved success rates of transplants is the issue of innovations. The positive technological innovation is an improvement, which has led to more patients surviving. This is precisely because with innovations, modern and better preservation methods have also developed.

As such, donated organs are preserved well therefore reducing chances of organ failure once implanted into the recipient. Another factor that has contributed to improved success rates is the improvements in surgical technique (New York Organ Donor Network, Inc). Progress in this area has also contributed to improvement in success rates of organ transfer as the operation surgeons are carryout an excellent job.

On the other hand, a continuous decline in the supply of donors has been observed for the last five years. Doctors have reported that, the reduced supply of organs from donors can have “resulted in a widening gap between the number of organs available for transplant, and the number of patients who are waiting for donor organs” (New York Organ Donor Network, Inc).

In this report, it has been noted that, the number of living donors increased a great deal between the year 1999 and 2004, but the numbers started decreasing drastically by the end of 2004 (Egendorf 51).

Despite the challenges and the issue of organ shortage, we can see light at the end of the tunnel. In providing a solution, a study has revealed that “the market place for immunosuppressive” is most likely to grow and expand for next 5 years from now (New York Organ Donor Network, Inc). This market is likely to expand because of the fact that, new transplant centers are being developed considering that survival rates have gone up significantly.

In summary, it is evidently clear that the success rates of organ transplantation have increased considerably over the years. Towards the start of this decade, major developments have taken place in the health care sector.

Among the many changes that have taken place, advanced technology has been the most fundamental change, which has contributed to increased chances of survival among the patients receiving organ transplant and therefore bringing positive outcomes.

Several governmental and non-governmental organizations have done extensive research with an aim of investigating the success rates of organ transplantation in the recent days.

According to the findings from different organizations like United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), it has been revealed that there is a general improvement in the success rates especially from the year 2000 onwards.

On the other hand, with the increase in the success rates, there is a growing demand for organ donors because there is a shortage in supply of organs in the market (Egendorf 75). However, despite this shortage, the market is anticipated to improve in the future days, as people are developing confidence due to increased survival rates.

Works Cited

Elgert, Klaus. Immunology: Understanding the Immune System . New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, 2009. Print.

Egendorf, Laura. Organ Donation . San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Print.

Hakim, Nadey and Vassilios Papalois. History of Organ and Cell Transplantation . London: Imperial College Press, 2003. Print.

New York Organ Donor Network, Inc. Donation . 2011. Web.

NHS Organ Donor. Success rates . 2011. Web.

Patel, Kant and Mark Rushefsky. Healthcare Policy in an Age of New Technologies . Carlifornia: M.E. Sharpe, 2002. Print.

• Organ and Blood Donation
• Discovery and advancement of the hip replacement technique
• Researching of Xenograft and Organ Donation
• Importance of Organ Donation
• Pros and Cons of Paying for Organ Donation: Arguments for Prohibition
• Al-Zahrawi's Life and Contributions
• Consumer Trend Analysis: Plastic Surgery
• Materials for Artificial Hip Joints’
• “Postoperative Recovery Advantages in Patients Undergoing Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery Under Regional Anesthesia.” by Suri
• Midshaft Fracture of Humerus
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2019, July 11). Organ Donation: Importance Information. https://ivypanda.com/essays/organ-donation/

"Organ Donation: Importance Information." IvyPanda , 11 July 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/organ-donation/.

IvyPanda . (2019) 'Organ Donation: Importance Information'. 11 July.

IvyPanda . 2019. "Organ Donation: Importance Information." July 11, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/organ-donation/.

1. IvyPanda . "Organ Donation: Importance Information." July 11, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/organ-donation/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Organ Donation: Importance Information." July 11, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/organ-donation/.

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

• Basic site functions
• Ensuring secure, safe transactions
• Secure account login
• Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
• Remembering privacy and security settings
• Analyzing site traffic and usage
• Personalized search, content, and recommendations
• Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

• Remembering general and regional preferences
• Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy .

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy .