A friend text me the other day to say her uncle, after five years of being on the national donor waiting list, had finally gotten the call to receive his new heart.
Five Years.
This made me think of what five years meant to me. If you haven’t been convinced that you could one day help someone by becoming an organ donor today, think of what five years means to you. Now think that my friends’ uncle has been sick most of his life and has lived over 40 years knowing one day he would need to depend on a stranger’s kindness. When the fight begins for those who are critically ill, most are given many medical opportunities before they are added to The National Waiting List as a last resort. It is a long and trying journey for a recipient.
First, the patient’s physician must give a referral and contact a transplant hospital. Patients and their doctors discuss which of the 200+ transplant hospitals in the United States fits their needs; including insurance, location, finances and even support group availability. An evaluation appointment is then scheduled to determine if the patient is a good candidate for a transplant.
During the evaluation at the patient’s selected hospital the transplant team agrees whether or not the patient is a good transplant candidate, they will add the patient to the national waiting list. The transplant hospital notifies the patient within 10 days to inform the patient of the date of listing. And then the the real journey - the wait - begins.
The surgery took over 10 hours and now my friends’ uncle is recovering because of a stranger’s generous act. What will the next five years mean for him?
Wanna Do It…
...Do It Now!
www.doitnowohio.org/onu
Written by Madison Bender
Source: http://www.transplantliving.org/beforethetransplant/list/list.aspx
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment