Wednesday, February 09, 2000
Despite new effort, organ giving down again
Families offer several reasons
BY TIM BONFIELD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Despite extensive publicity about the rising need for donated organs and a recent hospital regulation aimed at increasing supply, the number of Tristate organ donors went down in 1999 for the second straight year.
Last year, 41 people became organ donors after they died, according to a LifeCenter report issued Tuesday. That's down from 45 in 1998 and 50 in 1997.
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DONATIONS DWINDLE
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Donors per year:
• 1995: 53
• 1996: 50
• 1997: 50
• 1998: 45
• 1999: 41
Source: LifeCenter
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As a result, the waiting list for transplanted organs got about 23 percent longer. In December 1998, 217 people were waiting for organs. In December 1999, the list grew to 267 people.
The decline in donations comes even though hospitals worked all year under a “routine notification” rule, effective in mid-1998, that requires them to notify the LifeCenter of all potential donors. A year ago, officials were predicting 20 percent increases in donation rates as a result of the rule.
Referrals did go up. But donations didn't.
The biggest surprise was how many families said no to organ donation, even when the person who died wanted to be an organ donor, said LifeCenter assistant director Mark Sommerville. Of nearly 80 families asked to consent to organ donation, 47 refused. That included five families of people who had organ donor designations on their driver's licenses.
Families offered a wide range of reasons for refusing consent, many apparent focusing on religious or personal objections to organ donation:
• Nine families told LifeCenter they didn't want their relative's body to be cut open.
• Eight said they knew their relative opposed donation.
• Eight never discussed donation with the deceased and did not feel comfortable consenting.
• Four feared donation would delay the dying process.
• Three said they never discussed donation but thought the relative would oppose it.
• Three said they did not believe in organ donation.
• Two said they did not believe their relative was dead.
Ten families offered no reason at all.
Donations might go up if more people who want to be organ donors make their wishes clear to their families, Mr. Somerville said. Also, some families that refused might have agreed if there was more consistency among hospitals about when and how to approach families.
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