Category — Volunteers

Guest article by Lisa Zyga

One person dies every 16 minutes in the US while waiting for an organ transplant. Although health experts can’t directly increase the number of organ donations available, a network of local organ transplant organizations can find ways to make sure that more people who need an organ get one – and one that fits.

The field of organ transplantation is technologically fascinating and professionally diverse. In the 1940s, organ transplantation was virtually non-existent. Only in the past several decades has the technology caught up to allow patients a high chance of survival when undergoing transplantation. Now, the medical community faces a new problem: a lack of available organs.

In some ways, finding suitable organs for patients is more important than the actual surgery, simply because of the severe shortage of organs. Only about 7% of individuals on the waiting list will receive an organ within one year. While doctors and nurses can usually perform a successful surgery, it’s somebody else’s job to line up the body parts: specifically, an organ coordinator.

[Read more →]