Opinion

Are You an Organ Donor?

By CHRISTINE CUNANAN-NOMURA

Leaving the hospital after visiting a sick friend recently, I noticed a stack oforgan donor cards placed prominently at the entrance in front of a poster urging everyone to take a card and become an organ donor.

For many Japanese, volunteering to become an organ donor is a relatively new concept. My Japanese friends say that the idea of donating one's kidneys or eyes, for example, to a total stranger is difficult to imagine and undertake — both for the donor and for relatives and friends. The bereaved family, in particular, seems to feel the loss more greatly when a loved one dies and the body being cremated is not intact.

In fact, I have heard stories of Japanese who have decided to donate their organs upon their death and who have had their last wishes thwarted by shocked relatives. Other friends have also reasoned that some Japanese are also reluctant to become organ donors for religious reasons.

In certain other countries, organ donorship is much more accepted and even strongly encouraged. It is quite common for a person to carry an organ donor card in his or her wallet in case of accidental death. Some of the most successful organ transplant operations have involved donations from young people who have died in accidents. Many people overseas decide to donate their usable organs when they die so that other people may have a chance to live after them.

"After living a relatively happy life spent thinking mostly about myself, I think it's the least I can do to be of use to other people," explained my French friend Pierre. "I'll be dead, so whether I have my organs intact or not will not matter at all to me at that point. But it will mean a whole world of difference to someone who needs an organ very badly."

Most families of organ donors are supportive of the donor's decision. The parents of one such family told me that donating their son's kidneys to a very sick girl after he died in a car accident helped them overcome their sudden loss. The family has even gotten to know the girl and her family. "It somehow made us feel that Steve's death was not in vain since by dying he was able to give a little girl a second chance at life," explained Steve's mother. "After mourning for Steve for a long time, we can now view the whole idea of experiencing both death and life in a single tragedy through organ donorship as very beautiful."

To be an organ donor or not is a very personal decision that should be respected, not judged as right or wrong. Each person has his or her own life philosophy and principles.

I would nevertheless strongly encourage people to think about organ donorship upon death because so many sick people need healthy organs in order to live. In Japan, organ transplants are still too rare and expensive to undertake so many patients are not given a second chance for life. Those who don't want to give up must make a hard and costly journey overseas for an operation.

If there were organ donors in Japan, many patients might be spared unnecessary hardships and expenses — even unnecessary death. It's never too early to make such a noble and selfless decision. All you need to do is inform your family of your decision and get an organ donor card from your local hospital or health center. Fill out this card and keep it in your wallet at all times.

Shukan ST: Sept. 4, 1998

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