Importance Of Organ Donation Highlighted In April

By Karen Dandurant

PORTSMOUTH - April is "Donate Life" month, a time to highlight the constant need for organ, tissue, marrow and blood donors.

The importance of organ donors was in the news this month in a wire story out of California. The critically ill son of a Marine deployed to the Middle East received a new heart.

Four-month-old Dillon gained national attention when his father, Maj. Hal Sellers, was forced to decide between his family and his duty overseas. He said goodbye to his son and left for the Middle East more than two weeks ago.

The boy's mother, Betsy Sellers, spoke to her husband moments after the surgery. Stationed in Kuwait, Sellers had received a message through the Marine Corps that his son was in surgery but did not know until he spoke with his wife that his son had a new heart.

Dillon was 10 days old when he was diagnosed Oct. 31 with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, which occurs when a heart is unable to pump or circulate blood. Although the condition can often be corrected with surgery, doctors said Dillon's heart was too damaged. A transplant was his only option.

The story prompted a great deal of response because of the support for the military in this time of impending war, and because it gave a face, a personal touch, to show how important organ donors are.

Becoming an organ donor is a simple thing. It takes seconds to sign the back of your driver's license or to download an organ donor card from www.organdonor.gov/donatelife.htm.

The signature must be witnessed by two persons.

Signing the card is not an irreversible commitment. Crossing out one's signature nullifies it.

For those without access to the Web, donor cards are attached to brochures available at any Department of Motor Vehicle office, or you can have one mailed to you by an organ donor group, such as the New England Organ Bank (1-800-446-NEOB) or the NH Kidney Foundation (603-224-6641).

So why not do it?

Dr. John Novello is a nephrologist who practices at Portsmouth Regional Hospital. He specializes in internal medicine with a sub-special in kidney diseases.

Novello talked about the need for organ and tissue donation in all areas of medicine.

"The most important thing for people to know is that there is a national shortage of organs," Novello said. "The availability tends to be regionally somewhat distinct, but on average, the waiting time for a kidney from a cadaver donor can vary.

"Here on the Seacoast, patients who are registered at Maine Medical or at Dartmouth Hitchcock can wait three years. In the Boston area, there is a four to four-and-a-half-year wait. Regionally the wait can be higher. In New York it can be six to seven years depending on organ availability."

The New England Organ Bank, located in Newton, Mass., is the clearinghouse for the region's organ donations.

"Patients are registered and then assigned a point system," Novello said. "Some of the factors include how long they have been waiting, the match and a higher compatibility. Sometimes the distance from the transplant center has an impact."

Novello said kidney patients need renal replacement therapies, that being some form of dialysis.

"Many are kept on dialysis until they receive a transplant," Novello said. "Older patients and those who are more infirm may be ineligible or may succumb before a transplant becomes available."

Novello said another area becoming increasingly more popular are the "living donors," those who are not related, like a spouse or a friend.

According to First Government's Web site, National Donate Life month was originally known as National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week and was celebrated for one week in April. It grew out of smaller, independent efforts around the nation to recognize the importance and altruism of organ and tissue donors.

In 1983, Congress authorized the president to issue a proclamation designating April 22 through April 28, 1984, as National Organ Donation Awareness Week. Aware that many more tissue donations are made each year than organ donations, tissue was soon added to the name, and the third full week in April became the traditional time of observance.

Over the years, many hosting groups found it restrictive to limit special donation awareness efforts to one week in April - a week which often conflicts with other observances such as National Volunteer Week or, at times, with both Passover and Holy Week, so a decision was made to include the entire month.

Becoming an organ donor involves just a few easy steps. However, the most important part is all too often left undone. Most people know that you can sign the back of your driver's license or pick up an organ donor card.

Many people believe that once they have signed the card and had two witnesses sign it, they are all done. That is not the case.

Although carrying a signed license or valid donor card will make it easier for medical authorities to initiate the process, the truth is that hospitals will not proceed with organ retrieval until a family member has given written permission.

Statistics show that family members who don't know their loved one's wishes are more likely to say no to allowing the donation. On the other hand, when families know the wishes of the deceased, a great many more say yes and allow the donation to proceed.

Copyright © 2003 Seacoast Online.

This article posted April 4, 2003.