Heard that Myth about Organ Donors?
January 22, 2019: Nearly 113,000 people in America are waiting for life-saving transplant surgeries. The sad truth is that many of them will die waiting. There are not enough registered organ donors to meet the need. Why? Myths about organ donation are a large part of the problem. There are myths about everything from the cost of being an organ donor (cost is actually zero) to religions opposing donation (most faiths support). Perhaps THE most challenging myth is the one that doctors and nurses will not try to save your life if you are a registered organ donor. What to do? Providers at UF Health Jacksonville have decided it is time to step up and speak up. One of the first to do so is Dr. Lisa Jones
Dr. Lisa Jones
UF Health Jacksonville
Dr. Lisa Jones is a Critical Care pulmonologist and intensivist at UF Health Jacksonville. She is part of the hospital’s Trauma One team and cares for critically injured and critically ill patients. Aware of this myth and its impact on support for organ donation, Dr. Jones is joining with three other providers at the hospital to lead the MythBuster awareness campaign. She hopes people will watch the videos that are part of the effort and begin to understand that this myth just makes no sense.
Dr. Jones is honored to announce the launch of MythBuster during an interview on The Morning Show on WJXT-TV in Jacksonville on Monday, January 27, 2020. She plans to share a number of facts about organ donation that bust this myth, including these:
- Hospital and emergency providers do not know whether or not patients are registered organ donors. They are not allowed access to the national donor registry.
- Patients can donate organs only if they experience a condition impossible to survive – brain death or circulatory death while on a ventilator, a machine which helps them breathe.
- Hospital and emergency providers are not allowed to approach families about possible organ donation. If medical tests confirm brain death, or if circulatory death has occurred, they contact the area’s organ procurement organization to speak with families and help them understand what has happened.
Joining Dr. Jones in the MythBuster campaign are critical care nurse Trina Adams, trauma surgeon Dr. Brian Yorkgitis and senior chaplain Saundra Gadsden. All of them looked into the video camera straight on to make some pretty basic points. Number One: They chose their careers and trained for years because they want to save lives, not to take lives. Number Two: They are all registered organ donors. If this myth were true, why would they register?
The MythBusters are just getting started, and there is much more to come. Please share this and help spread the word. We welcome your comments, questions and ideas! Check back here and on all our MythBuster sites for new videos, new stories, new answers and what we hope will be a new day…a day where this myth does not stop anyone from registering to give the gift of life.
