For many people facing end-stage organ failure, a donated organ is their only life-saving option. But the waiting list is long, and finding the right organ match is incredibly difficult. In Wisconsin it’s becoming even more difficult, as more than 800 people have removed their names from the organ donor registry this year.
That’s in keeping with a nationwide exodus from the registry, after a series of New York Times articles this summer raised questions about organ donation practices in the U.S. One July 20 article alleges that organs were harvested prematurely from patients who showed signs of life.
According to a letter to Times editors obtained by Newsweek, the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations says Times coverage contained “serious factual inaccuracies” about the U.S. organ transplant system.
Lake Effect’s Joy Powers is joined by two people who are trying to counter misinformation and share the benefits of becoming an organ donor. Dr. Nikole Neidlinger is a transplant surgeon and medical director of UW Organ and Tissue Donation. Colleen McCarthy is the vice president of organ and tissue donation at Versiti Wisconsin.
“When these registry removals are occurring at this record pace, it’s robbing people of the healing power that donation has,” McCarthy says.
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