Katy Portell (The Beacon)
By Katy Portell, Guest Commentary
The Portland community has embraced living green, but have the members of this community, who encourage recycling everything possible, considered the idea of recycling themselves through organ donation?
Many people either avoid the topic of organ donation or think of it as "gross" or "morbid," but for me it's an inspirational topic because it gave me life. I am a donor recipient.
When I came into the world 22 years ago, my parents were shocked and terrified to find that I didn't come whole.
I had two holes in my heart, my aortic valve and pulmonary artery were switched and the pulmonary artery was underdeveloped. I was blue from oxygen deprivation and so fragile at three pounds nine ounces that my parents could not hold me for 10 days. I had two minor surgeries to insert shunts, which allowed me to survive until I was big enough for major surgery.
When I was 4 years old, I underwent open-heart surgery to receive a donor pulmonary artery.
I am now an active and healthy 22 year old studying organizational communication and drama here at the University of Portland and I'm preparing to graduate at the end of the semester.
The doctors, nurses and my supportive family members are all partially responsible for my survival, but the real miracle of my life can be attributed to one key individual: my donor. Every moment of my life that I've enjoyed since then is a gift from this anonymous individual.
What's morbid about that?
I present my story as a testimony to the fact that organ donation is about the life it brings forth from death: It transforms the tragedy of a loss of life into the beauty of new life.
Here's another fact about organ donation that few people realize: Over 100,000 individuals are still waiting for a life-saving organ donation.
There are not nearly enough people willing to take action to help these individuals, though many people seem to support the general idea of organ donation. Out of the 2,500 individuals randomly interviewed in 2005 by The Gallup Organization, 95 percent were found to be in support of organ donation, yet only 53 percent had already indicated their consent to donate.
This hesitancy to take action is likely due in part to the taboo surrounding the subject. Myths about black market donations and doctors manipulating the system are perpetuated by the media and believed by the public, even though all the facts are available from organizations like Donate Life America at donatelife.net and on the official U.S. Government website, organdonor.gov. Registration is easy. In Oregon, anyone over the age of 13 can sign up online at donatelifenw.org, request a paper form or code their driver's license.
April is National Donate Life Month, so take a few minutes to look up the questions you have about organ donation. Take the steps to register as an organ donor here in Oregon and in your home state as well if applicable. Speak with your family about the facts of organ donation.
Above all, the most important fact is that I am alive because of my donor's decision to give the gift of life.
This fact is a reality every time my heart beats, and I am eternally grateful to my donor. So as we continue to nurture our environment and community, let us not forget this incredible way in which we can save and improve the lives of others.
