With all the wrangling going on at the Statehouse, we’re glad to see that Gov. Paul LePage and our legislators could at least agree to approve the new Maine Organ and Tissue Donation Fund, an initiative that is going to help save lives.
The bill to set up this new fund was sponsored by Rep. Megan Rochelo, D-Biddeford, whose husband died last year at age 35. Rochelo has said she found some comfort through her grief in knowing that 15 people were helped by the donation of her husband’s organs and tissue, because he was an organ donor. She’s now been at both ends of the organ donation process, having also seen her father receive an organ transplant from a donor.
It’s those personal experiences that have convinced Rochelo how important it is to promote organ donation ”“ and the numbers back her up. According to the New England Organ Bank, there are 117,000 people on the organ donation waiting list in the United States, with 4,800 of those in New England alone.
Now that Rochelo’s bill is signed into law, those who go to get or renew a driver’s license will have the option to check off a box to donate $2 to the Maine Organ and Tissue Donation Fund. It’s the perfect place to add this donation option, since license renewals are also when drivers can choose to identify themselves as an organ donor.
Donations made to the fund would go to the Organ Donation Advisory Council, a group working to encourage more Mainers to become organ donors. According to Secretary of State spokeswoman Barbara Redmond, about 510,000 Mainers have signed up as organ donors, which is just a fraction of our population. And it’s not enough. Every day, 18 people on the list die because they don’t get a transplant in time.
The boost this fund can give to the educational and promotional efforts of the advisory council can help make the difference between life or death for many people. The diagnosis of a failing organ for you or your loved one is devastating, and made more difficult by knowing that the possibility for continued life would be much better if only more people were willing to sign up as donors.
Becoming an organ donor is a scary prospect for many people, and that’s where the advisory council’s efforts will make the most difference, by explaining what being a donor means, what the process is and what donation can mean to an organ recipient.
Some people don’t sign up as organ donors because they believe they won’t receive proper lifesaving care if they are injured, since the need is so great for organs. This is nonsense, of course ”“ and would lead to endless lawsuits for hospitals. Medical professionals are required to do everything they can to save a life, and it’s not until a patient is declared dead that the organ harvesting process actually begins to take place. Others cite religious considerations, but would probably be surprised to find that most major religions, including the Catholic church, support organ donation with the consent of the donor.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website, most of those who end up donating organs have suffered head trauma, aneurysm or stroke and have been declared dead because their brain has ceased to function. Such deaths are usually sudden and traumatic for families, and organ donation can provide a silver lining to a horrible situation. Rochelo understands first-hand what it means to have your loved one live on by helping save the lives of others, and she knows the impact it has on a recipient family, too.
We’re glad the legislators on both sides of the aisle understood her motivation and backed this measure, which gives people the option to boost the Organ Donation Advisory Council’s efforts to increase this life-saving practice. Hopefully, drivers will check off both the organ donation and the $2 donation to the fund the next time they renew their license, and organ donation will be become more prevalent throughout the state.
Visit www.donatelifenewengland.org for more information and to join the organ donation registry.
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Today’s editorial was written by Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Kristen by calling 282-1535, Ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.
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