Giving your heart away may take on a whole new meaning this Valentine’s Day.
A statistic from organdonor.gov claims that one organ donor could save up to eight lives.
Harry Sloan, who holds a doctorate degree in biology and professor at Sinclair Community College, agrees with the statement, adding that tissues can also be donated when a person is in need.
“In the unfortunate event that you become brain dead, your organs can be harvested,” Sloan said. “They can potentially be used to help eight people, and your tissues would help about 50 people.”
Brain death occurs when your brain is not receiving sufficient nutrition and oxygen, and blood flow is decreasing. When an individual’s brain and brain stem has lost all neurological function, Sloan said that is when an organ is harvested.
“The individual is usually on life support,” he said.
Sloan acknowledged that organ donation is a sensitive topic, urging those thinking about donating to research before making a choice.
“There is a term that everybody uses; closure — there is no closure,” he said. “What you look for is something to make sense out of what has happened and you try to rationalize it based on your world view, and I think that’s where some of the doubt about [donation] comes from.”
Sloan said benefits for the donator come before donation, where the individual is in a position where they feel they can help people.
“In a way, you could be helping other people live a healthier life,” he said.
Sloan also said there are negatives when it comes to organ donation and transplants, including incompatibility.
“Things are not 100 percent and the success rate is dependent on a lot of factors,” he said. “There is a compatibility issue on whether the person would have rejection, and that does happen.”
However, Sloan believes the benefits of donation often outweigh the negatives. Donation does not only help with life in more severe cases, but it can help with sight if donating your cornea, mobility if donating tissues and possibly even hearing.
“When you sign up for organ donation, what you are really saying is that you are volunteering to help somebody else,” he said.
Donatelifeohio.org said that 3,400 Ohioians are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant.
“I view that my body is just composed of molecules and chemicals,” he said. “If I’m not able to think, behave and respond — at that point my brain doesn’t need [an organ] anymore if I’m not functioning.”
There are also organs that you can donate while still alive, according to donatelifeohio.org.
“Almost 36 percent of all kidney transplants are performed with living donors, who are often related to the person needing the transplant,” the website said. “People can live normal lives with just one healthy kidney. There are also new methods of transplanting a part of a living adult’s liver, pancreas or lung.”
If an individual changes their mind on the choice to donate, an option is available online where they can deregister or complete an enrollment form in person, according to donatelife.org.
Sloan said no matter if the person chooses to donate or not, they should think about the topic, because at some point they may be in need of an organ or tissue.
“If I can help someone to live a better life, then that’s what I want,” Sloan said. “But I am able to make that decision and that’s the key thing — not everybody can.”