“The truth about Organ Donation”Ibrahim Hooper once said “Making any kind of donation is the ultimate sign of solidarity. Actions speak louder than words” The very first successful kidney transplant was made in 1954 to Ronald Herrick who donated his kidney to his identical twin brother Richard Herrick, this kidney transplant was led by two doctors in Brigham hospital in Boston (LiveOnNY 1). Organ donation is a topic that really isn’t addressed in the United States and the reality of 116,000 Americans being on a waiting list is being overlooked and no one is talking about it. Although many might have conflicting views on organ donation there are so many positive outcomes to it. More people should not be opposed to organ donation and be someone who can the lives of others. One single donor, it set up to save about eight lives, Organ donation allows many to go back to a normal lifestyle and many families find that their loss was not in vain and it brings a sense of relief to know their loved one was able to save a life.About 116,000 Americans from older individuals to children are currently on a waiting list hoping for any kind of miracle of an organ to come their way. It’s been shown that one single person can save up to eight lives by donating a heart, lungs, liver, pancreas, kidneys, and intestines. In 2016 about 41,355 donations were made about 4 out of 5 donations came from deceased donors and 1 out of 5 from living donors. There more people in need of a donation than there are people who have donated in 2017. Kidney and livers are actually the most common organs that are needed to be donated. About 423,478 kidney transplants have been made and 155,252 liver transplants(UNOS)  Many people need to take the dialysis route where they have treatments to clean out their blood because they have kidney failures and its the only way their bodies are able to continue to function. Aout 20 people average die every day on the waiting list with someone being added every ten minutes to the waiting list.Many make the excuse of not being an organ donor due to religious beliefs and that is the only reason they don’t become a doner. Researchers have shown that most mainstream religions in the United States like Christianity, Judaism, Islam Buddhism and Hinduism do not necessarily obligate one to donate nor do they refuse anyone to donate (Beliefnet 1). Donor recovery network has stated that “All major of the religions in the world see organ donation as an act of charity and make it clear that it is a decision to be left up to the individual or family”(1) Most religions actually talk about being able to help one another in any possible way and encourage people to stand together in anyway possible. Yes, organ donation might be extreme but if your able to help save someone’s life why not be able to take apart on that.Imagine being told that you could possibly die because your kidney is failing you and all you need to go back to a normal lifestyle is a new kidney. Great just order me up one right? No, it’s not that easy the process of being on a waiting list for an organ donation is the most excruciating thing if you ask me. They go based off of the level of medical need that you are at if you are someone that is on the verge of death it’s possible that it can go to you but the factors of location and compatibility also play a huge role. Many people have to make huge adjustments to their normal lifestyle due to an organ failure and most of those times don’t get to go back to normalcy at all. Organ donation gives people that are in huge need the ability to go back to a normal lifestyle and essentially a second shot life in most cases. Because the way waiting lists work and how organs are distributed this is the major problem as to why people decide not to donate because they can’t control who they are donating to. Most people don’t feel it be deserving to donate their organs to someone who essentially harmed their own. Yes, it is possible that someone’s organs can go to someone who was a smoker and ruined their own organs knowing the harm they were doing to themselves.If one decides to become a doner there are some things that they should know beforehand. They must be comfortable with the situation and know that if in some case the donor gets an accident or have a health issue the doctors will and must do everything in their power to save their life, just because they are an organ donor doesn’t mean the doctors will not take their job and duty seriously. That is probably one of the biggest misconceptions about organ donation. When the body of a doner is set to be unsalvageable and they have tried everything that’s when the doctors declare that the body(mostly the heart) won’t be able to recover and its when the time of death is called upon. There are a few steps that happen before anything is done with the organs. The doctors will take Information about the organs that are available for donation, like the donor’s blood type and their body size is all provided to UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing). The UNOS matches the donated organs to a possible patient. When a match has been found, an electronic message is sent to the transplant center for the patient who matches the donated organs. The transplant doctor is responsible for making the decision whether to accept the organ or not. If the surgeon declines the organ for that patient, the CORE (Center for Organ Recovery & Education) coordinator contacts the transplant surgeon of the next patient on the list. This process continues for each organ until all of the organs have been appropriately matched with patients (Core 20).Many might wonder how the organs are harvested for donation and how they keep them sort of alive for their next patient. When organs are taken from the body then the organs are all flushed with a cooled solution to remove all blood from the organ which is a very important step to be able to preserve the organ. Then they are evaluated carefully and are packed in a sterile solution with ice. From there on the organs are ready to be taken where the transplant will take place. In some cases, some organs will come from different states and need to be flown across the country. A big misconception about organ donation is that the doner isn’t able to have an open casket funeral and this is false. Organ donors are 100% able to have open caskets if they undergo any kind of donation. If a bone donation is done a rod is inserted where the bone is removed and in cases of skin donation, a thin layer is taken from the donors back since they are fully clothed no difference is seen. It’s amazing to know with all the amazing new medical researchers that we have to know that organs are able to be on their own for a certain amount of time and still be able to be put on someone else’s body.The biggest question everyone has about organ donation is How much is this going to cost me or my family? Who is going to be charged? Does one have to pay and the answer is yes, unfortunately, people do get charged for an organ donation Whether it’s the cost of the transplant, the preliminary testing, the surgery itself and the post-recovery will all vary across the country depending on the hospital and the organ type.This is probably a downside about organ donation and a lot of people claim to be unfair if you are making an act of kindness and still have to live with those enormous bills that will come in the mail. There has been a couple of people who have spoken about still receiving a bill in the mail after their loved one was an organ donor. Ellen from Florida wrote an article in the Chicago Tribune saying that her beloved son passed away and donated his organs a few weeks later received a bill on the mail from organ removal with a quota of 8,000. Many also stated their stories and set it straight that the people who say that organ donors don’t have to pay a single thing are absolutely falseLosing a family member is never an easy situation to go through in life it’s a grief that will always be there and an emptiness that everyone goes through. Organ donation gives so many families the ability to sort of process their loss and know that their pain was not in vain and their family member was able to save some else’s life. How amazing is it to know that there is a little piece of that loved one out somewhere in life and was able to make a difference in someone’s life. In 2005 a family from Florida decided to donate their 21-year-old son’s organs who had a fatal car accident. They didn’t know much about organ donation but a nurse in the hospital told them to look into it and see what they thought. They decided to donate their son’s heart, pancreas, liver, and kidneys which resulted in saving six lives. They know to say “Anand was this terrific guy, this loving guy,” they also say “What a waste it would have been if we hadn’t donated his organs. We are very happy that we made the best decision.”Just as much as organ donation changes the life of the families of the donors the recipient of organs gets the ultimate gift. Antonio from San Antonio Texas received the ultimate gift, a corneal transplant that allowed him to see the world. Antonio was 7 years old when he was able to receive this donation. When he was born his parents noticed he had sort of blue eyes which was strange because no one in the family did and he would cry when he was taken into the bright sunlight. After many doctor visits and test they found out he had “CHED disease” which affects the corneas and causes blindness. He was diagnosed at the age 1 and soon he was going blind and a transplant was his only option.In many rare cases, donations can come from living donors and even family members. Caleb from D.C is one of those rare cases he was born with a prune belly syndrome a serious condition that causes the kidneys to fail. Like many Caleb had to take dialysis every day for 10 hours every day for 2 years. When Caleb was three his mom was able to donate her kidney and he is now a strong boy that becomes more independent. Organ donation is an amazing thing and it comes from a family member or a closed one must be extra special for both.Like Antonio, Caleb, the family of Anand and many more organ donation forever changed their lives and for the better. Organ donation is a topic that has many conflicting views from people that are either for or against it. There’s many who see the positive outcomes that come from organ donation and see all the amazing stories that have flourished from organ donation.It’s amazing that one single person can save up to eight lives. It’s astonishing how organ donation is able to give people a second chance at life and how it allows family members to be able to know that their loved one was able to save someone’s life. People should definitely educate themselves more on what organ donation is and what it is able to do for others before they make a decision to be for or against it. There so are many people who are in need of organ donation and people aren’t talking about it. If we all are able to give something to one another whether it be a stranger or not this will show more solidarity as a country and as Ibrahim Hooper said actions speak louder than words.