Detroit discusses the importance of becoming an organ donor at town hall meeting

By Kristal Harris, Contributing Writer

March 26, 2006

Dr. Kimberlydawn Wisdom, Michigan's first surgeon general, said Saturday at a town hall meeting on organ donation at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History that there are 91,500 people on a waiting list for organ transplants.

"We cannot meet the demand," she said.

The meeting, sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, D -- Mich, featured panelists from several organizations and hospitals who spoke about the importance of every resident of Michigan becoming a registered organ donor.

Kilpatrick, who has been a diabetic for 12 years, shared what sparked her interest in organ donation.

"I wanna live to be 100," she said. "If I don't keep up my health, I'll need a transplant."

Wisdom also said the average waiting time for a patient before receiving a transplant is approximately five years. By that time, the patient's condition has worsened.

"Wouldn't it be nice if we could reduce the waiting time from five years to six months?" she said.

Patrice Miles, the executive director of the Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program (MOTTEP), who also spoke at the meeting, presented five theories as to why many blacks do not donate their organs:

Lack of awareness. Some blacks either do not know there is a need for donors or do not have enough information about transplantation.

Medical distrust. In the 1930s, the U.S. Public Health Service conducted a 40-year experiment known as the Tuskegee Study on 399 black men to determine the effects of syphilis. The men were never told they had the disease and were denied health care, leaving many dead. Many blacks today do not want to donate organs for fear that they, too, will be used as guinea pigs.

Religious beliefs. Some believe they must have all their organs intact when they get to heaven.

Superstitions. Some blacks fear that if they donate organs they may die early.

Racism. The fear that all organ donations may go to whites. Latanja Davis, the public health coordinator at the International Association for Organ Donation, encouraged the audience to make a commitment to share the information about organ donation to other people.

"People will listen if you tell them about their health," she says.

Dr. Miguel West, a surgeon on the organ transplant team at Harper Hospital and associate professor of surgery at Wayne State University, said that it is important that an interested organ donor does not just indicate their decision on the back of their driver's license, they should also register to become a donor. Davis agreed.

"This adds your name to the list," she says. "Otherwise, family may say no and you could die without your wishes being carried out."

Wisdom developed a healthy lifestyles campaign called Michigan Steps Up to help reduce risk factors threatening the health of Michigan's citizens. According to her website, citizens can help prevent the need for a transplant by increasing physical activity, improving healthy eating and reducing tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke.

The event concluded with testimonials from those who were either organ donors or recipients of organ donations.

One testimonial came from Alexander Beydoun, 23, a Wayne State Law School student, who said that one morning his little brother woke up screaming. When his family took him to the hospital, they found out his kidneys had shut down overnight. Beydoun's brother needed a donor.

"There was no match," he said. "We didn't know what to do." But then his aunt called at 2 a.m. one day and said she was a match. Beydoun's brother received a kidney transplant from his aunt.

"Today, he's a couple hundred pounds, all muscle," says Beydoun, whose brother is now 21 years old. "He passed his aviation test and is an all-A student at Western University."

Beydoun also said that Sigma Pi Fraternity sponsored a challenge to get students to become organ donors. After participating in January and February of this year, he says Wayne State came in third place, registering up to 748 names.

Gift of Life, the Michigan Organ and Tissue Donation Program, encourages everyone to register to become an organ donor by visiting their website at www.giftoflifemichigan.org or by calling (800) 482-4881. People of all ages and medical histories are considered.

Copyright © 2005 The South End Newspaper.

This article posted April 16, 2006.