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Show rsday. | HERALD, Provo, Utah—Page 31 January 3, 1980 Questions and Answers Given Here's How to Donate Your Body Organs at Death By PATRICIA McCORMACK UPI Health Editor Transplant surgeons re- searchers and medical educators scramble these days for donations of body parts and entire bodies after death The shortageof body parts has not yet led to their international brokering in a sub-rosa wayor to criminal means of procurenient — as in the movie “Coma.” Butinsiders on surgical teams transplanting kidneys. corneas and other body parts privately talk about the growing need for donations of organs. bones and entire bodies at death. A transplant a. at a top medicalcenter on East Coast said he comes out any timeof the day or night to talk gently to shocked families of young adult auto accidentvictims. He did not want his name used or his institutition identified. But, he said, the shortage of needed bodyparts is serious. A mother or father. a wife or a husband of the deceased, numbed by grief, is the object of his soft talk. He said it is a heartbreaking chore that has as its goal the bringing of hope. perhaps life itself, to a person doomed by a failing or nonfunctioning body part. When he succeeds, the loved one signs on the dotted line, giv- ing permission to take either the body or certain organs before the undertakerstarts his work. That surgeonis trying to teach other doctors the delicate human relations techniques involved — ways to gentle the family into giving permission. Perfectly healthy kidneys and other body parts from young accident victims are much in demand — desired for their freshness. In medical education circles, the focus is on a cadaver shortage reaching into practically every medical schoolnationwide. Telephone hotlines form networks across the country, keeping surgeons informed of the fresh deposits to body part banks in selected medical centers. At conferences on organ procurementsurgeons, administrators and staff from such centers puzzle over ways to make the intelligence network more efficient. Pressure on those in procurement has become greater for a simple reason: scientific advances have madelife possible where there was little hope before. Operations such as kidney and cornea transplants enable some very disabled persons to lead new lives The National Institutes of Health, in a moveto help with the procurement problem,spells out how-to-donate instructions in a new free pamphlet. “Because the National Insti tutes of Health is the federal government's principal medical research agency, people often turn to us with questions about the use of the body at death to help the living.’ Bowen Hosford, J.D., of the NIH says. The title of the booklet: “How to Donate The Body Or Its Organs for Transplantation, Medical Education and Research,” Following are some questions and answers about the delicate Subject of donating your body or some of its parts upon death skin and other tissues used? AA surgeon removes a cyst in a living person’s bone and fills the cavity with bone from a Q. What are corneas and what can u transplaned one do” A. Corneas are the dime-sized transparent coverings over the donor the NIH answers Another doctor spares an accident victim a crippling handicap pupil and colored part of your eye. Scarring by accident orinfection maymean lost vision. By transplanting a replacement — material from the top of a donor's thighbone or hip. A brain the gift of sight— doctors have a 90 to 95 percent chanceoffixing vision. You don’t need perfect vision to donate a cornea. Corneas that can be used come from old away persons. from persons who wear Blasses, and even from some persons blinded by a cause other than corneal disease Q.How are donations of bone, byfusing part of the spine, using surgeon replaces a small amount of brain covering what was cut during surgery, membranes from a donor using ‘Another doctor places skin from a donor over a burned person's wounds,as a dressing to help through the crisis. Later, a plastic surgeon transplants skin from the patient's own body to the burned area. One donor may supply such varied tissues and transplants and you change your mind check out how to cancel with the people whoissued the license Two Uniform Donor Cards come with the NIH booklet on There are never enough donors Kidney trouble How to Donate the Body or Its Organs now kills more persons than auto accidents. Many whose kidneys have failed survive with three- Theyareidenticaland start out with a blank tofill in — the place for your name. The wordingafter times-a-week treatment on artificial kidney machines that that cleanse waste from the b “But such a machine cannot be in the hope that I may help others I hereby make this anatomical gift if medically acceptable to take effect upon my as portable as a transplanted kidney,” the NIH says. “And a natural kidney not only cleanses waste but also regulates blood pressure and performs other tasks automatically. death. The words and marks belowindicate my desires “'T give (a) any needed organs or parts: (b) only the following organs orparts (specify) for the Q. How muchwill I be paid for Purpose of transplantation therapy medical research or education.” the body parts or the entire Hosford says the booklet was put out to provide answers to body? A. Youor yourrelatives cannot be paid for your bodyorits parts. Many persons offer to sell their bodies to medical schools. These offers are never accepted. The questions people ask. The NIH reports that in most states the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act governs how you can become a donor. Usually, after discussing wishes with your family, youfill out, sign, and carry with you a Uniform Donor Card. Find out from your state department of motorvehiclesif there is a place on your driver's license to designate that you are an organ donor. Just filling out the card does not mean you will become a donor. Medical work hesitate about proceeding when such a card is found on an accident vic- If it is your intention to donate your entire body for anatomical study, there is a place to designate. There also is a place to list any limitations on such use or special wishes. if any. donations are a true gift Q. Who will payfor the expense of removing and transporting the body or the donated parts? There is a need for prompt ac- A. The expenseof removing the parts is borne by others but the family customarily bears funeral expenses. Removalof parts does not in itself preclude an opencasket funeral tion after a person is pronounced dead. And. by the way. the doctor who is doing the transplant can- not pronounce the death. A different doctor must. The time table: Q. What about final arrangements by the family if I donate —Kidneys must be removed immediately after death. If a person dies enroute to the hospital. it’s probablytoo late for kidneys to be used. —Corneas should be removed within six hours after death —Tissue such as bone, for example, can be used if removed up to 24 hours after. Majortissue banksinclude the U.S. Navy Tissue Bank, Naval Medical Research Institute Bethesda, Md.; the University of Miami, Fla. Tissue Bank. They accept donations from bodies of Persons who havedied locally. Another, the Northern California Transplant Bank, San Jose, accepts organs and tissues from donors dyingin areas of the State north of Fresno. For further information. write for a free copy of the NationalInstitutes of Health booklet, ‘How myentire body? A. “The family may choose to have a memorialservice without the body's being present. This can be quite inexpensive. A family desiring instead that the body tim — unless there is also per- mission from the next ofkin. “So it makes sense to let your close relatives know about your decision, perhaps even in be present for a funeral service writing,” the NIH says. should check with the school.” Other tips: — Find a specialist or hospital Q. How long does it take to study the entire body, if that is the donation choice | make? A. “The study of the body will take several months to a year or two,”’ the NIH says in the booklet. “The schoolcan arrange for disposition of the remains at no cost to the family.If the family wishes that the remains. perhaps cremated. be returned, this should be discussed with the school.” that will accept your ition so you can designate in detail. Start by asking yourdoctorfor a referral or call the Surgery Department of the nearest medical school or hospital. If it is your intentionto give your entire body, contact the Anatomy Department at a medical or dental school in your area. Youdon’t need to have perfect eyesor perfect health to be a cor- nea donor, by the way. And when it comes to helping scientists discover new ways to savelives in the future, an elderly person’s body can be as valuable a donation as that of a youngerperson. others. and thus help several other patienis Q. Why are kidneys needed” A. Doctors cannothelp all who would benefit from kidney Illustration shows some body parts that may be transplanted — noworin the future. Q. Say I make all these arrangements and then change my mind. How doI call the dealoff? A. “Cancel out by tearing the card. 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