Date: Fri 20-Nov-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

edink-organ-donation-Rauner

Full Text:

ED INK: The Science And Emotion Of Organ Donation

For most of us, science doesn't intrude much into the subjective realm of our

emotions. It occupies a place apart, precisely prescribed by the immutable

laws of nature, not subject to the same sudden shifts and tumbles we find in

our emotional lives. In telling the story, this year, of Richard Rauner's

long, heroic wait for a new heart at Temple University Hospital in

Philadelphia, however, we realized how truly emotional a science story could

be. Mr Rauner is still waiting, and his many friends here in Newtown think of

him daily and hope that today will be the day a donor heart is located.

Thanks to new federal regulations due to be implemented nationwide within a

year, the estimated 60,000 people like Rich Rauner who are sick and in need of

new organs, may not have to endure the excruciatingly long wait that he has.

The new regulations will require hospitals across the nation to report all

deaths, or cases of patients who are "brain dead" and close to death, to their

regional organ procurement organizations (OPOs). Such notification is

currently voluntary.

The regulations also transfer responsibility for identifying the suitability

of potential donors and for discussing organ donations with family members

from hospitals to the OPOs, which have staff members who are better trained

for both tasks. The result should be an increase in the number of available

organs for transplantation.

It is estimated that between 12,000 and 15,000 people who die each year are

potential organ donors, yet in at least one third of these cases, the families

are never approached about the possibility of organ donation. And in many

instances, a single donor could provide several organs to people whose lives

depend on a transplant. The new federal regulations will ensure that the

subject is at least raised with family members.

In the meantime, each of us should resolve to consider the exciting, life

affirming possibilities afforded by modern medical science in those

emotionally fraught times when we must face death and grief. Talk about organ

donation with family and friends, and consider the possibility of linking the

greatest of losses to the greatest of gifts.