Unsubstantiated Fears Thwart Organ Donations
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iStock/Thinkstock(LONDON, Ontario) — There are a number of reasons why people don’t want to register to become organ donors, including a concern that their doctors will be less committed to treating a life-threatening condition.
The ill-conceived logic is that physicians are somehow more interested in helping a patient in need of an organ transplant rather than the donor.
However, Alvin Ho-ting Li from Western University in London, Ontario, contends this fear is unjustified because in reality, doctors are more likely than the general public to be registered for organ and tissue donations, at least in Canada.
Li and his team found this out by going through multiple databases. As a result, he says, “showing that many physicians are registered for organ donation themselves could help dispel” the notion that doctors won’t do their all to save a registered donor who might be in grave condition.
In the U.S., there are 100 million people registered as organ, eye, and tissue donors in state donor registries, with 79 transplants performed daily. However, 18 people also die each day waiting for a transplant.
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