Organ Donation

By SAVANNA TROAST

No, the hospital will just let me go if I have the organ donor symbol on my license! One phrase demonstrates the importance of spreading information on organ donation and addressing the stigmas that go along with it. 

Organ donation is one of the few things that people try to avoid talking about before they pass away, but it happens to be one of the most important things to talk about. From telling your family what you want, to addressing it on your license, organ donation needs to be a topic of conversation before it’s too late. 

Lauren’s Law was passed in New York State as a way to increase the amount of people who verbalize that they would like to be an organ donor. Lauren Shields, a woman who recently presented to the Kiwanis Club of Washingtonville in April, is the woman who is credited for getting this law passed. 

At just the young age of seven, Lauren found out that she needed a life saving heart transplant. She began feeling that she was very fatigued and not able to perform at her best. She decided it was time to go to the doctor, and that's when she found out. Obviously, this was a hard thing for her to hear, but she explained that it was always harder on her mother. 

Lauren got the transplant that she needed after a young boy's family allowed his organs to be donated after a car accident where he was pronounced brain dead. That family's decision saved her life and brought her on the path she is on now. 

Lauren now works for Live On New York, which is an organization that works to get consent for organ donations from the families of people that are eligible. For someone to be eligible to donate their organs, they must be declared brain dead and receive life support. About forty percent of people that are declared organ donors in New York. That number will come down to about three percent of these people that are actually eligible to donate. This is because many of these people do not meet the aforementioned requirements.

While Lauren was living a great life after her transplant, the medicine she had to take was harming her. It ended up deteriorating her liver and, once again, she needed a transplant. She waited for a few months before her mother could not watch anymore. Her mother got tested and found out she was a match. Her mother donated her liver, which then allowed for her to make a full recovery. 

Lauren talked about how she would still be allowed to donate organs, but not the organs she received. She explained that lives are still saved even if they are organ donors. Doctors still try to do their absolute best, with many not even knowing if a person is an organ donor or not while they operate. 

Betty Ann VanLeeuwen, Vice President of the Kiwanis Club of Washingtonville, sat down and explained that “Lauren got the law passed so that people could put down their wishes before they pass away. [She] loved that Lauren is working to make everyone aware of what organ donation is and how helpful you can be to other people's lives.” 

While sitting in on the presentation, many questions were answered, and it allowed for people’s minds and ideas about organ donation to differ, and it allowed for many people to think about their own decisions. 

Organ donation does not mean your life will be cut short. Organ donation is not a requirement. Organ donation can help save another life, or many other lives. Organ donation will not kill you, but it can improve the lives of other people. Think about it. Choose how you feel. Know you can change your mind at any time. Organ donation is a life saving procedure.