ENGLISH 2010 SPRING SEMESTER 2014 POSITION ARGUMENT Catherine Medina

Issue: Organ Donation Donating organs can save many lives, like Howard Romanoff. In 2007 he was diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis and needed a lung transplant. After five years he received one. He founded the SHARE LIFE organization which informs and educates people to increase organ donation.

Introduction  Everyday 18 people die because of a lack of organ donors in the United States  For example in 2012, 6,455 patients died while awaiting an organ transplant  In 2012 there were 8,142 deceased organ donors in the United States and 5,870 living donors 2012 DeceasedOrgan Donors 8,142 LivingOrgan Donors 5,870 No Dying W/O Organ Transplant 6,455

2012: Organ Donors

Charts  The graphics on the previous slides suggest that these deaths could be prevented if there were more organ donors  Another issue is how to organs should be distributed fairly.

Organ transplants save many lives, however there is a shortage of organ donors; if there was an “ opt-out policy” it would increase the number of organ donors and save more lives.

Discussion  Right now in the United States there is an “opt-in policy”  An “Opt-in policy” means that when people go to get a drivers license they must clarify if they want to be organ donors instead of automatically being an organ donor.  For more information on the Organ Donation Policy in the United States visit this website. Organ Donation Policy  There are also other ways to become organ donors. For example, people can register online at the “Donate Life” website.

Discussion  Right now in the United States over half of people are in support of organ donation however there are still very low donor rates  According to a survey done by Donate Life America, 53 percent of people were willing to donate their organs to help others in need. For the undecided, reluctant or those who do not wish to have their organs and tissue donated, the most common reasons were not being sure they’d be acceptable donors (19%), haven’t decided (15%) or want to keep their organs and be buried whole (8%) (DonateLife.com)  The low donor rates are due to people being uneducated on organ donation and people not taking the extra steps to sign up when they renew their license  In some other countries around the world some of them have opt-out policies and 99% of people are registered organ donors

Opposing Arguments  The problem is, not everyone is supportive of an “opt-out” policy. Some arguments against organ donation include that death would need to be redefined. Some people think death is when there is no brain activity. But others think it is after brain death when the organs shut down. The problem with this is that when the organs shut down they can no longer be used for transplants.  Religious reasons  People think that doctors would not work as hard to save someone’s life if they were organ donors because one body could potentially save several lives.  People think it would give doctors too much power.

Supporting Argument One  In the United States today there is an opt-in policy. (refer to previous slide for link to organ donation policy document)  The opt-in policy is not effective because there is still a huge shortage of organ donors.  Typically in countries where there is in opt-in policy there are high rates for people who are in favor of organ donation however there are low rates of organ donors.  Most people are uneducated and do not know the facts or statistics. There are now outreach programs such as Donate Life and Share Life to educate the public on the importance of organ donation.

Argument One Continued  Many people are unaware of how important organ donation is until [they – themselves,] or someone they know are on the transplant list.  There are many programs such as Donate Life that are helping to educate the public on the importance of organ donation  There is even somewhere on the website where people can register to become organ donors without having to go to the DMV  If the United States is not going to change the policy then there needs to be an easier way to register

Supporting Argument Two  In other countries where there is an opt- out policy it has been very effective.  In some countries 99% of people are registered organ donors  The 1% of people who do not want their organs donated usually have religious reasons  In the countries with in opt-out policy more lives are being saved

Supporting Argument Three  By having higher donation rates more lives are being saved  100,000 people are on the waiting list however a dozen people die each day because lack of organ donors  On the Donate Life website there are many survivor stories  Many of the survivors are extremely grateful and passionate about educated everyone on becoming organ donors  There are also stories of the families who’s loved ones passed away and their organ’s were donated to save another life. They do not regret it.

Conclusion  If the United States does not change the policy more efforts need to be made to educate the public on the importance of organ donation  If there was an opt-out policy there would be more organ donors which would save many lives

Works Cited  Chaplan, Arthur. PhD “Organ Transplantation”. The Hastings Center. 5 February   Hopkins, John. Hall, Erin. Deshpande, Neha. Ros, Lori. Steinwachs, Donald. 29 November “Presumed Consent Not Answer to Solving Organ Shortage in U.S., Researchers Say”. 7 February   Matthews, Cara. 30 June “Organ Donation: An Opt-out Policy” USA Today. Usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/ organs- donors_N.htm. 5 February  Romanoff, Howard. April “Howard’s Story”. story/. 24 March story/  Thaler, Richard. 26 September “Opting in Vs. Opting Out”. 7 February   Truog, Robert. Miller, Franklin. Halpern, Scott. 9 October The New England Journal of Medicine. “The Dead-Donor Rule and the Future of Organ Donation”. 7 February