Organ donation decision isn't about to get any easier

June 30, 2006

News editor Ian McMillan's column runs every other Sunday. E-mail him at imcmillan@durhamregion.com.

I have this thing about life. I like it. No, I like it a lot.

But if something were to happen to me and I died, I have let it be known that I would like to donate any organs I have to those who may need them. Check my wallet and you'll find a signed organ donor card.

My reason for reaching this decision was simple -- if I'm dead it isn't like I'm going to need my organs anymore so why not help someone who can put them to good use and enjoy a little bit more of this thing we call life?

Of course there are people out there who have religious or moral objections to donating their organs in the event that they die late in life or before their time. This is, after all, a personal decision and nobody can force you to do something you don't want to do.

It wasn't until this week I realized just how important organ donation can be and how short in supply organ donations are in this province. According to the Canadian Council on Donation and Transplantation nearly 1,800 people are waiting for an organ transplant in Ontario. In 2004, 122 of them died.

This week though The Trillium Gift of Life Network, the provincial agency in charge of organ and tissue donations, announced they were moving toward organ donation after cardiac death. Prior to this organs were only transplanted after the patient was declared brain dead. What's the difference, you're asking?

Well, if you're brain dead, you're gone, kaput, finito. Cardiac death does not necessarily mean you're a goner. In some cases people have been resuscitated after the heart has stopped beating for five minutes. You're likely dead but there's no guarantee another shock from the paddles won't revive you.

So here's the dilemma. If I'm on the stretcher and my heart stops, do I want the doctor to give up? No way. Like I said, I'm enjoying my time here.

Somehow I think this new change isn't going to make the choice of organ donation easier for anyone.

News editor Ian McMillan's column appears every other Friday. E-mail him at imcmillan@durhamregion.com.

Copyright © 2006 Metroland, Durham Region Media Group.

This article posted August 15, 2006.