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More than 100,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for lifesaving organ transplants, and many more are waiting for donated tissue. And, according to the New England Organ Bank, more than 6,000 people die every year waiting for an organ transplant, due to a shortage of donated organs and tissues.
“Many people support organ donation, but support alone is not enough,” said Shaun Golden, BSN, RN, nurse director of the Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit at BWH, during a presentation about the importance of organ donation, in Kessler Library last month. “If you’ve made the decision to be a donor, there are a number of important steps to take to make sure your family and loved ones know your wishes.”
Nearly 80 percent of organ donors at BWH come from the Neurosurgery ICU, providing organs and tissues for people awaiting transplants locally and nationally.
“Each organ donor can save up to eight lives, and each tissue donor can enhance the lives of countless more,” Golden said, urging people to not only consider the decision to become a donor, but also to make sure to discuss the topic with their families. Golden also recommends preparing a set of advance care directives, which are specific instructions that are intended to direct a person’s medical care if he or she is not able to do so in the future.
“We frequently find that people haven’t talked about it or made their wishes clear, and this puts tremendous stress on family members in an already emotional situation,” Golden said. “If advance care directives are in place, families don’t have to make the decision. You have already made it.”
Golden also suggests that potential donors register as a donor online at www.DonateLifeNewEngland.org