MYTH: If I am in an accident and the doctor and hospital know
that I want to be a donor, they will not try to save my life.
TRUTH: Organ, tissue and eye recovery
takes place only AFTER all efforts to save your life have been exhausted and
you have been declared legally dead. The medical team treating you is
completely separate from the transplant team. No one is contacted about your
status as a potential donor until all life-saving efforts have failed.
MYTH: I don't need to tell my family that I want to be a donor because I
have it written in my will.
TRUTH: By the time your will is read, it will be
too late to recover your organs, tissue or corneas. Registering on the state
Website and telling your family now that you want to be an organ, tissue and
eye donor is the best way to ensure that your wishes are carried out.
MYTH: I am not the right age for donation.
TRUTH: At the time of your death, the appropriate
medical professionals will determine whether your organs, tissues or eyes
are usable. Organs may be donated from newborns on up.
MYTH: Wealthy people and celebrities are moved to the top of the waiting
list faster than "regular" people.
TRUTH: The organ, tissue and eye allocation and
distribution system is blind to wealth and social status. The time it takes
to receive a transplant is governed by many factors, including blood type,
length of time on the waiting list, severity of illness and other medical
criteria. Factors such as race, gender, age, and income or celebrity status
are never considered when determining who receives organs, tissues or eyes.
MYTH: I have a history of medical illness. You would not want my organs,
tissues or eyes.
TRUTH: At the time of your death, medical
professionals will determine whether your organs, tissues and eyes are
usable. With recent advances in transplantation, more people than ever
before can be donors.
MYTH: Only your heart, liver and kidneys can be transplanted.
TRUTH: Organs that can be donated include the
heart, kidneys, pancreas, lungs, liver and intestines. Tissues that can be
donated include the eyes, skin, bone, heart valves and tendons.
MYTH: Donation will mutilate my body.
TRUTH: Donated organs, tissues and eyes are removed
surgically in a routine operation. Donation doesn't disfigure the body or
change the way it looks in a casket.
MYTH: My family will be charged for donating my organs, tissues and eyes.
TRUTH: No costs directly related to organ, tissue
or eye donation are passed on to the family. A nonprofit organ procurement
organization (OPO) will pay these costs.
MYTH: My religion does not support donation.
TRUTH: Most mainstream, organized religions approve
of organ, tissue and eye donation and consider it an act of charity. Click
here to look up your religion. (See
attached Religion sheet link)
Currently, there are
100,735 patients on the national waiting list. See how you can help....
One tissue donor has the potential to help an average of 50 people. Learn how you can be that ONE....
Eye donor's give sight back to two people through the miracle of corneal transplantation. See how you can become someone's miracle....
