The scenario: a man just had a heart attack and arrives at the hospital. He always wanted to be an organ donor, but never had the time to figure out how to become one.
Now his organs cannot be donated to save up to eight people and enhance the lives of 50 others, according to Mayo Clinic statistics.
The state of Colorado recently proposed Senate Bill 11-042, or “A Bill for an Act Concerning Presumed Consent for Organ and Tissue Donation,” that would change the current organ donation process for all Coloradans. This bill would make Colorado the first state in which people would be organ donors by default.
Normally, when receiving a state-issued identification card such as a driver’s license, one would check a box and in doing so express their wish to be an organ donor.
This bill would make it the exact opposite, meaning unless you check the box stating you do not wish to be a donor, you will be one.
According to Donate Life America, a nonprofit program, another name is added to the national organ transplant list every 10 minutes, and 18 people die from lack of a transplant each day.
By following what SB 11-042 proposes, it would, for obvious reasons, increase the amount of donors. Because while 90 percent of Americans say they support donation, only 30 percent know the steps to becoming one.
By making this change, you help that 60 percent of Americans who support it but don’t know how to become a donor.
So why haven’t Arizona and other states created legislation making their state an opt-out system rather than opt-in since organ donors are in such high demand?
The question that is raised in this bill is, “What if my time to pass comes around, I don’t want to be a donor and I haven’t removed my name from the list?”
Maybe for religious reasons, you believe you need those organs in another life or you don’t wish to donate for another reason. Maybe you believe that if you are listed as a donor, doctors will not make the same effort in saving your life as they would for someone not donating their organs, and that there are many doctors just waiting for your “time of death” call to pounce and harvest your lovely organs. Perhaps you do not want your family to worry about the supposed financial burden of paying for your organs to be removed from your body.
There is good news, though. According to the American Heart Association, no family will have to worry about the financial aspects of donating because you don’t have to pay to donate and save the lives of others. And the scenario of doctors wanting for your organs like leeches is completely inaccurate.
Let’s say you still don’t want to donate for another personal reason. If your immediate family is around and they are willing to make that statement on your behalf, your wishes will be fulfilled. But if they aren’t, and it was really that important to you to keep your life-saving organs to yourself, you should have made it a priority when you were alive to remove yourself from the list that saves so many lives.
Colorado is leading the way to a smarter era of organ donation and Arizona should be wise and follow suit.
Jessica can be reached at jessica.hyduke@asu.edu
