Opinion

My World: Just Say Yes: Be an Organ Donor

by Dennis Halpin

Taking the time to read this could save someone’s life, and if enough of your friends read it, someday your life may be saved.
I would like to ask you a question: are you an organ donor? If you are, thank you. If not, why not?
Most people never think about it until they or someone they love is in need of an organ. The United Network for Organ Sharing runs the transplant network. All the statistics used in this article are from their database.
The state of Ohio currently has only 58 percent of its adult population registered as donors. If you have a driver’s license, you made a decision to register as a donor or not. You are asked when you apply for a license if you would like to be a donor.
The question should be, “Would you like to have the opportunity to save someone’s life?” Maybe that would cause us to think a little more before we respond.
This issue is personal to me because I am one of more than 16,000 people in the country waiting for a liver transplant. Last year, when there were 16,000 of us on the transplant list, only 6,256 livers were available to transplant, and over 1,500 people died while waiting for an organ.
The transplant list grows much faster than the available organs; therefore, more people will die while waiting as the need grows.
The process used to determine when you receive an organ is based on laboratory tests that predict your risk of death. The numerological read out is called a MELD score, which stands for Model for End-stage Liver Disease.
The ideal is to transplant when your MELD reaches 22-23. However, fewer livers available means the transplanted scores go up. So the patients are sicker when they are transplanted, which creates a greater possibility for complications.
If you have a rare blood type, like mine (O-negative), the chances that you will be transplanted before a MELD of 35 are very small.
There are many ways to register as a donor, but the easiest occurs when you receive or renew your driver’s license. If we would all give the gift of life, it could save your life someday.