Organ Shortage

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What happens when a patient finds a kind-hearted donor who is willing to give their organ, yet, it is an incompatible match? Not too many years ago, this crisis meant the patient would have to wait on the transplant waiting list for many years until a suitable match was found. This also meant many people who were unable to find a match died while waiting on the list and were essentially deprived of their quality of life and the chance to be granted new life. Yet, still today in modern society, there is a major organ shortage due to the unavailability of adequate organs for transplantation. The number of patients waiting on the wait list as well as the number of people dying on the waiting list for an organ transplantation has continued to greatly …show more content…

According to Harris and Alcorn, “in the United States, there are currently 68,000 patients on the waiting list for an organ transplant that could undoubtedly save their life. Every sixteen minutes, a name is added to the list (Harris & Alcorn, 2001). Each day, even moment, the number of people waiting for an organ on the wait list continues to increase, while the number of donors and transplants rate is growing slowly to none. Statically speaking, “the number of patients on the waiting list in the year 2006 had risen to over 95,000, while the number of patient deaths was over 6,300” (Abouna, 2008). Based on the numbers, it demonstrates how this major crisis in organ donation is indeed threatening the lives of many people who are desperate to become a recipient and receive a compatible organ. The paired organ donation has been implemented as a solution to decrease the number of patients waiting for an organ. A paired organ donation is described as organs being exchanged. Organ exchange occurs when a living donor is incompatible with the planned recipient, so another donor like a complete stranger or family member donates the desired organ. This organ paired donation …show more content…

Consequently, paired organ donation can be an effective lifesaving treatment option. Paired organ donation occurs when a compatible match is found, these matches are due to a “domino effect”. The donation begins with a donor (non-directed) who is willing to donate their organ out of the kindness of their heart. The domino effect ends when the paired donor who is last in the chain donates to a recipient on the waiting list. Paired organ donation can be traced all the way back to teachings in religion. Religion has a major influence on paired organ donation. A religious group such a Christianity encourages organ donation. Christians believe organ donation is an act of love and compassion. Closely looking into the lenses of Christianity, the Bible teaches Christians to give and embrace the needs of others. Therefore, donating an organ will mirror Jesus and follow his teachings. In the Bible, there are many scriptures that highlight the importance of organ donations. However, there are still questions such as is organ donation unethical, is this practice going against God's will and is it a sin that are curiously raised. Fortunately, scriptures found in the Bible are able to answer the uncertainty and illustrate principles. One popular teaching that many Christians live their life by is in Mark 12:31 in which states; "Love your neighbor as yourself"(Mark 12:31, New

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