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Entry bubble Stolen Kidneys? Desperate for an Organ Transplant

By: Nancy | January 31, 2008 | Category: Health

donate life logoIt's a story I've heard around the internet for years: unsuspecting people are abducted and anesthetized. When they come to, they find that one of their kidneys has been surgically removed. Til now, it was dismissed as an urban legend. 

But this week, the story proved true as law enforcement near New Delhi broke up a ring that reportedly tricked more than 500 poor Indian workers over the last decade into going to a particular address in search of a job. When they got there, they were knocked out and awakened later to find that they had stitches in their side and were missing a kidney. The surgeon who is thought to have performed all those operations is now on the run. And at a guest house owned by the doctor, police found five wealthy foreigners awaiting transplants, including two Americans.

Reports like this are really horrifying. And they sure highlight the lengths that people will go to, to get a new chance at life with an organ transplant. 

This morning, more than 98,000 people in the US were on waiting lists, hoping to receive a donated organ.  Seventy-five percent were waiting for a kidney.

It's hard to think about becoming an organ donor because most often, organ donation happens following death. But hearing stories about lives being restored through transplants made the decision to register as a donor a little easier for me.

If you're healthy and meet certain other criteria, you can donate a kidney, part of your liver or parts of other organs right now, and continue to live a normal, healthy life. Donating tissue like bone marrow is just an outpatient procedure. And it could mean the difference in someone's survival.

OrganDonor.gov and DonateLife.net have lots of information to answer your questions about organ donation from practical and moral perspectives. And OrganDonor.gov has links to information on how you can register in your state to donate. Many states make it really easy; they have a place you can check on your driver's license application to register as a donor.

What are your thoughts about organ donation? Are you a registered donor? Do you know anyone who's received a transplant?

| Comments [4] | envelope Email This Entry | Tags: kidney   nancy   organ   transplant  

Comments:

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My husband received a kidney transplant on Christmas Day, thanks to a young person who had indicated s/he wanted to be a donor. This young person, around 20 years of age, was in a fatal car accident. We don't know who this donor was, where s/he lived, or what his/her background was. All we know is that s/he checked their driver license to be a donor, and her/his family agreed to the organ donation.

My husband - who was on dialysis for four and a half years and worked a full-time, demanding job - is still healing from the operation but we can already see the changes in our lives. He lives every day now thinking about that donor and how he can honor that person's life through his own.

I have checked my driver's license to be a donor, as have our neighbors. We couldn't help my husband, but it is possible we could help others in the future. Please, agree to be an organ donor: it can save someone else's life!

Posted by Becki on January 31, 2008 at 08:51 AM EST #

As sad as it may be what is going on in India it is time we took care of ourselves. My heart breaks for any one suffering, in pain, living a miserable life. I have young kids and pray that this country recognizes our needs so they can experience the same quality of life we are so anxious to provide to other nations. The news reports state we have not passed bills related to our safety, our weapons are in Irag rather than here to protect us if there was an attack, the National Guard is not prepared.......very scary. Any resources spent must be spent helping people like Becky's husband. We are constantly helping other countries while leaving our citizens that are contributing via taxes etc in the dust.

Posted by bf on February 01, 2008 at 09:38 AM EST #

I used to work as a clerk on the Organ Transplant Unit at IU Medical Center. Prior to that I worked on the kidney/liver unit where patients were admitted prior to a transplant. Some would eventually receive an organ, some would not. I knew some of the patients (and their families) pre & post transplant and the difference in their outlook on life is amazing!

I am a registered donor and have been for many years. My kids got their driver's licenses recently and neither had to be asked twice to check that box stating they would like to be a donor.

I've often wondered what it would be like if the tables were turned, and you had to go to a website to register NOT to be a donor, otherwise everyone would automatically be a donor upon death. If that were the case, there wouldn't be so many people on that list today.

I haven't done a great deal of research, but I've read that ONE organ/tissue donor can help improve the lives of SIXTY different people! Most people don't realize that they could save/improve so many lives, and that they can be a donor without dying first. I think the organizations are getting better at educating people, but still have a long way to go. Thank you, Nancy, for writing about this and helping these organizations promote awareness.

Posted by Cristy on February 01, 2008 at 03:07 PM EST #

I am a registered donor. My father is a liver cancer patient. To donate part of your liver puts the donor under great risk. I would do it for my Dad, but I won't do it for just anyone. I'm a regular blood donor too. It is a good idea to donate your organ when you have no use of them. It is not a merely out patient procedure.

Posted by dcrider on February 02, 2008 at 03:15 PM EST #

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