Organ donation: questions and answers

Other Side of 50


 

 

The organ and tissue donation process is unfamiliar to a lot of us. Some people may not even know they’re registered donors.

Understanding the law and how it’s applied is important.

The first time many of us heard of choices about organ donation was at the DMV. More than 90% of individuals surveyed across the country stated that they registered their donation decision through their local Department of Motor Vehicles.

A pink dot on your license shows that you are an organ donor. That information is also forwarded to Donate Life California Registry.

Your advance healthcare directive is another common way to designate whether you would like to be or choose not to be an organ donor. Many of us have completed a directive as part of our will or trust.

The advance directive consists of four parts. Part 1 is a power of attorney for healthcare, letting you name another individual as your agent to make healthcare decisions for you if you become incapable of making them yourself.

 Andrea Gallagher

Andrea Gallagher

Part 2 allows you to give specific instructions on aspects of your care, such as withholding or withdrawing of treatment.

Part 3 lets you express an intention to donate your organs, tissues and parts after your death. And part 4 lets you designate a physician to have primary responsibility for your healthcare.

Recently, I learned of a newer (2019) California law that affects our choices regarding organ donation.

Assembly Bill 3211 made the choice of organ donation all-inclusive in the directive, meaning that upon death, organs, tissue and parts can be donated for all uses, including transplant, therapy, research and education.

Some individuals who may want their organs donated for transplant only, for example, will need to specify that by crossing out uses they do not want.

This law also makes organ donation the default, meaning that if you do not want to donate, you must opt out. To opt out, go to donateLIFEcalifornia.org or call (866) 797-2366.

If you prefer not to donate your organs but you do not opt out of the registry or indicate your intention not to donate in your advance directive, then an authorized individual on your behalf can opt for organ donation after your death. An authorized individual would usually include a spouse or a domestic partner.

Each hospital has a legal duty to identify and refer every potential donor to an organ donor organization.

Potential donors are identified using clinical triggers, such as those diagnosed as brain-stem dead. A network of organ donor coordinators speaks with families of potential organ donors.

If an individual has chosen organ donation via their health directive or DMV designation, their decision to be a donor is legally binding and cannot be overridden by family, which is why it is so important to discuss your choice with loved ones.

There are many wonderful reasons to be an organ donor. There are over 100,000 people in the U.S. waiting for an organ transplant every day, and 20 patients die each day because of a lack of organ donors.

If you’re an older adult thinking about organ donation, there’s no defined age for donating organs, and very few medical conditions automatically disqualify you from donating your organs.

It’s important to consider being an organ donor if you belong to an ethnic minority due to the incidence of chronic conditions affecting organs in these populations, along with having matching blood-types, which is very important for transplant success.

In a recent study on the reasons people want or do not want to sign a donor card, the top two reasons for wanting to be an organ donor were religious reasons or a desire to help others in need. The top three reasons for not wanting to be an organ donor were mistrust of doctors, hospitals and the organ allocation system; a belief in a black market for organs; and whether the recipient deserves it (i.e., one’s organs would go to someone who brought on his or her own illness or could be a “bad” person.)

Regardless of your decision about organ donation, it’s vital to make sure you document your choices and inform your family of your wishes to prevent conflict and allow for peace at the end of life.

To learn more about organ donation in California, go to donatelifecalifornia.org.

Gallagher is a certified senior advisor and president of Senior Concerns. For more information, go to seniorconcerns.org or email agallagher@seniorconcerns.org.