Giving the Gift
of Life…Organ transplants save lives, need is great
Newswise — Nine months
before the 2005 holiday season, 46-year-old Steven Kandt
received a gift that gave him a second chance at life: a
double lung transplant.
“My life right now is so
incredible,” says Kandt, who was born with cystic fibrosis,
a genetic condition that can cause impaired lung function.
“I’m coaching my daughter’s basketball team after years of
only being able to watch her play from the stands and
wishing I could be on the court to help her out. Now I’m
doing it. I’m living the dream.”
Today, a now healthy Kandt
is doing things he never thought possible because someone
else – whom he never even knew – decided to make the choice
to become an organ donor and give the ultimate gift: the
gift of life.
As families gather and
give for the holiday season, Mark Gravel, RN, director of
Donations Initiatives at the University of Michigan Health
System, says it is the perfect time to discuss donation
options and preferences with loved ones who may some day
need to make the decision for you about organ and tissue
donation.
“When a family decides to
give the gift of life, it’s an opportunity for their loved
one to live on beyond death,” Gravel says. “One organ donor
can save the lives of up to eight people, and tissue donors
can impact the lives of nearly 30 people. Just one act of
giving can save nearly 40 people.”
According to the United
Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS), 90,000 people in the United
States are currently waiting for a transplant. More than
1,600 people will be removed from the list this year because
they become too sick for a transplant, and another 7,000
people will die while waiting, making the need for organ
donors that much more dire.
Recently, UMHS, in
collaboration with the organ and tissue recovery
organization Gift of Life Michigan, has made great strides
to shrink the gap between patients on organ wait lists and
organs available for transplantation.
Through the creation of
the organ Donations Initiative Program, UMHS has worked to
increase staff education, and improve the informed consent
process by using trained staff to talk with patients’
families about the potential for organ donation, says
Gravel. In 2004, UMHS raised its organ donation rate to 92
percent, making it the leading transplant center for
donation in Michigan and earning it the U.S. Department of
Human Services’ distinguished Medal of Honor for achieving
and exceeding a life-saving organ donation rate of 75
percent or greater for a 12-month period.
But Kandt says the people
who deserve the most praise are those who make the often
difficult decision to donate a loved-ones organs to help
others in need.
After a lifetime with
cystic fibrosis, Kandt’s condition progressively got worse
by his late-30s. Frequent lung infections left him dependent
on an oxygen tank for 24 hours a day, and confined to the
couch. Just walking down a hallway would leave him tired and
out of breath.
The man who doctors once
thought wouldn’t live to see first grade, now knew that a
double lung transplant was the only thing that would give
him his life back.
Kandt was placed on the
transplant list and waited. Months went by, and his
condition worsened to a point where he began to prepare for
his death.
Fortunately, in March
2005, after a 25-month wait, he finally got the call that a
pair of lungs were found that were a match.
“It was a miracle and it
was just the best feeling in the world to know that my time
here on earth was going to be extended because some family
out there had the courage and thoughtfulness to give the
gift of life at the worst possible time in their lives,”
Kandt says. “I know it’s something I can never repay them
for, but I will always be thankful to them.”
Those interested in
becoming organ donors are encouraged to discuss their
decision with their family, or document their wishes on a
driver’s license or organ donor card, which can be obtained
through a local organ procurement organization, such as Gift
of Life Michigan.
Facts about organ
transplants and donation:
• Approximately 90,000
people are listed and waiting for a transplant in the U.S.
according to UNOS. More than 1,600 people will be removed
from the list this year because they become too sick for a
transplant, and another 7,000 people will die while waiting.
• Michigan patients
currently waiting for a transplant, according to Gift of
Life Michigan, as of November 2005:
- Kidney: 2,159
- Heart: 52
- Lung: 57
- Kidney/Liver: 10
- Kidney/Heart: 2
- Pancreas: 33
- Kidney/Pancreas: 68
• In 2004, the organ
donation efforts of UMHS and Gift of Life Michigan resulted
in 68 organs for transplantation – 38 kidneys, 18 livers,
three hearts, three lungs, five pancreases and one
intestine.
• According to UNOS, when
an organ donor becomes available, all the patients on the
wait list are compared to that donor. Factors such as
medical urgency, time spent on the wait list, organ size,
blood type and genetic makeup are considered. The organ is
offered first to the candidate that is the best match.
• If you are interested in
becoming an organ donor, discuss your decision with your
family; make sure they know what you want, and find out what
they want. You can use signing your driver's license or
signing a donor card to raise the subject.
• More than 861,000
individuals are registered on the Gift of Life Michigan
Donor Registry.
