Giving Up a Blessing
Life is full of surprises. Some are good, and some unfortunately are not so good. We are constantly challenged to deal appropriately with the bad surprises, but, of course, it is not always as simple as it seems. For example: if you had a baby with a heart problem would you put in the time, energy, and money for a transplant? Or say you had a baby with extreme brain damage who was living off life support, would you give consent to take the baby off life support and allow his/her organs to be donated to a baby in need? If I were in either of these situations, I would want to know everything about what the problem was, and how I could help make it better. So here are some questions, and there answers, that I had.
What are the qualifications for a heart transplant?
"Children with certain types of cardiomyopathy and end-stage or inoperable congenital heart disease may require pediatric heart transplantation."
http://www.texaschildrens.org/carecenters/Heart/transplant/faq.aspx
Are there different types of transplants?
"The two types of heart transplants are orthotopic cardiac and heterotopic cardiac transplants.With orthotopic transplants, the most common type, the patient's damaged heart is removed and a healthy donor heart is sewn in its place. In a heterotopic heart transplant, the original heart is left in place, and the healthy donor heart is sewn in next to it."
http://www.texaschildrens.org/carecenters/Heart/transplant/faq.aspx
How long is the wait for a donor?
"it may take days, weeks, months or even years before a donor heart that matches your child's needs becomes available."
http://www.texaschildrens.org/carecenters/Heart/transplant/faq.aspx
How long will the heart last?
There is no certain time frame, but life expectancy is lower than normal. Most transplanted hearts are said to last 10 years before it causes problems and another transplant is necessary.
Organ donation can change and save lives. Many parents don't think about organ donation concerning their kids and often don't want to think about it, but it does make a difference.
"There are approximately 89,000 Americans currently waiting for a donated organ"
"Finding a heart from another infant is very difficult because the pool of potential donors is so small. Experts say infants are less likely than older children to be involved in a fatal accident. They're protected by car seats, watched more closely by adults, and are overall in a safer environment than older children. Parents of newborns also tend to not think about organ donation."
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=1678904
I hope I never have to make the decision to donate my babies organs, but if I do, I will know that I sent someone else a blessing and there life will change for the better.
Comments
I find this very interesting
I find this very interesting because I think you chose an interesting topic that caught my eye and I began to read it as you slowly developed this discussion. I think organ donation can be at one point good, but then bad at the same time because I would not like to donate my organs, but I would like to save a life without doing so.