Are you an organ donor? Some who think they are, may not be registered05:49 PM CDT on Wednesday, April 8, 2009
By CLARA TUMA
KVUE News
More than 101,500 Americans are waiting for organ transplants.
In Texas alone, more than 7,000 people are in that race against the clock. But many Texans who think they're set to be donors may not be registered at all.
That's because for many years, people signed up to be donors on their driver's licenses. In 2006, Texas began an online registry for donors, and if you haven't registered there, you're not officially signed up to be an organ donor.
"There's a critical shortage of organ donors in Texas," said Evelyn Delgado, assistant commissioner for family and community health services at the Texas Department of State Health Services.
"Unfortunately, some people who want to donate -- and 90 percent of Americans say they support organ donation -- they may think they're on the list," Delgado said. "But the registry is actually fairly new."
To sign up, go to donatelifetexas.org, or register at local driver's license offices, which send the information on to the registry.
When a patient in a Texas hospital reaches a stage where organ donation may be possible, hospitals are supposed to check the registry to see if the patient has signed up.
Kristin Lester knows the generosity of those who donate organs firsthand. She received a new heart three years ago.
"He was a 13-year-old boy, that's all I know," she said. "I know he was able to give up everything that he could, but why he passed away, I don't know."
A virus attacked Lester's heart while she was pregnant with her second child. She lived with a defibrillator for several years, but eventually went into congestive heart failure.
"I had a heart attack, and then things fell apart very quickly," she said. "My heart had gotten about three times bigger than normal. I woke up on a heart machine and they told me I needed a transplant."
Doctors estimated Lester had about 30 days to live.
Luckily for her, a heart became available about 10 days after her name went on the registry.
"I got my heart in 2006," she said. "In March, I just celebrated three years. I just got my biopsy back and everything is good to go."
But not every on the donor list receives help as quickly as Lester.
Lupe Silva Rivera has been waiting for a new kidney for three years. While he waits, he goes for dialysis three times a week.
"I was diagnosed with kidney disease about five years ago," he said. "My son and my daughter tried to give me a kidney, but it's the wrong kind of blood."
Silva Rivera knows his struggle for a new kidney is even more difficult, because the number of Hispanic donors does not match the number of Hispanics in need.
Transplants are more successful if the organ donor and recipient share the same genetic similarities, says Michelle Segovia, of the Texas Organ Sharing Alliance.
"Over half of those waiting for life-saving transplants are minorities," Segovia said. "But minorities don't donate at quite the same rate as Caucasians do."
The state says Hispanics make up 36 percent of the population, but 44 percent of the wait list. African-Americans make up 12 percent of the population, but 20 percent of the wait list.
In order to donate organs or tissue, donors must be in a hospital, on a ventilator and declared brain dead.
Experts advise those who want to eventually donate their organs to discuss their decision with their families and to make sure their names are on the online donor list.
Being a donor does not cost the donor family. The cost is picked up by organ procurement groups.
https://www.donatelifetexas.orghttp://www.txcn.com/sharedcontent/dws/txcn/austin/stories/040809kvue_organ_donation-cb.b6c29280.html
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