What about being a donor? By this, I
mean just what is really meant when we put “Donor” on our drivers licenses.
There are many different aspects of being a donor. Is it your intent to donate
tissue, bones, vital organs, or perhaps to give a complete body donation? As a
funeral director, I would like to shed a little light on the subject.
May I go on record as saying that I
think being a donor is a gracious gift, but sometimes the communication is very
misunderstood by those actually giving the gift. When a person or family is
contemplating organ, bone, or tissue donation, they need to be aware of the
drawbacks associated with the gift.
It is my belief that giving a gift
that lives beyond our own life is a tremendously honorable act. When giving the gift of an organ, such as a
heart, liver, or kidney, many factors come into play, one of which is life
support. Life support allows for the recipient to be prepared to receive the
transplant. These gifts are precious and
every detail is critical.
Another gift may be the eyes which
may provide a corneal transplant for a recipient. It’s a very successful procedure, where life
support is not necessary, but time is of the essence.
There is also an enormous need for
the gift of tissue and bone. Again, a
gift of this nature can greatly enhance the life of another. There are times, however, that a delay in the
donor recovery response has resulted in the inability to utilize the
donation, or even worse, caused the
rescheduling of the funeral, disappointing the donor’s family. The delay can also be a negative for an
optimum preservation process.
Families of donors are well informed
as to the wonderful difference their
donation will make in the life of a recipient, but sometimes the families are
not informed of the complications that may exist during the process of laying
their loved one to rest.
If any of my family members or
friends were contemplating being a donor, I would want them to be informed of
the advantages as well as the disadvantages.
Hence, I would now like to cover some of the disadvantages. Quite often, the result of an anatomical gift
competes with the embalming procedure. The circulation system of the body is
disrupted, not allowing proper distribution throughout the body and interfering
with the preservation process. In many cases, the body is disfigured and often
the embalmers are not able to produce a satisfactory appearance. This creates a
surprising and disappointing result for the families, especially if they were
planning on an open casket visitation.
You, the public, should also be
informed that there are additional costs associated with anatomical
donations. In order to properly restore
and prepare the body, it requires skilled technical procedures and an increased
great amount of time.
I would like to suggest that it is
far better to provide the pro’s and con’s of anatomical donation so that
individuals and families may make well-informed decisions. May they be
presented the many blessings of anatomical gifts as well as what might be
called the down side.
In
conclusion, each individual must decide for themselves if the gift is worth the
possible adverse consequences.
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