Dying to live- Every week dies waiting for an organ

By: Ewan Jacob

As his body fought against the virus of unknown origin, his weakened heart ultimately became sustained by a mechanical crutch, holding onto the hope that eventually he would receive a call from a heart donor. Four months later, Adam received that call and underwent a heart transplant which saved his life. Twenty-five years on, he is now a husband and father, and paying it forward by working in healthcare. Adam’s story serves as a vivid reminder that in death, lives can be reborn, and a heartbeat can echo through generations transcending the limitations of our temporal existence. But most aren’t so lucky – every week an Australian dies waiting for an organ transplant. Despite 4 in 5 Australians showing support for donation, only 36% are registered to be a donor. The chasm between intent and action is reflected in Australia’s low organ donation rates, which severely lag behind other Western Nations, and is further pronounced within Asian communities due to lower match rates.

Whilst organ donation rates are beginning to improve globally due to policy intervention, it is still far below the minimum threshold required to sustain most nations as they struggle with endemic diseases, aging populations, and rising hospitalization rates. The lack of organ donors is a global problem, and exposes a lingering hesitation that holds back a surge of life-saving possibilities. Rationally speaking we know we should donate, but organ donation isn’t a heart vs head thing – it’s both! So why do we continually have an organ shortage problem, and why are most well-intentioned individuals continually choosing not to register as donors? To paint a clearer picture, I have examined multiple literature reviews to explain the sociological and psychological phenomena which dissuade people from donating.

Trust and Understanding: Key Barriers to Bridge

A common issue which surfaces is the mistrust of medicine and lack of under- standing around brain death. The advantage of using brain death as primary criterion for organ donation is that it is easily observable, and well entrenched legally, medically, and socially. Once a person is brain-dead everything that made that person who they were; their memories, personality, ability to interact with others and the world are irreversibly lost. Further, there has never been an unconfounded false positive case within decades of surgery in Australia – essentially, no one has ever come back from death after being declared brain-dead. Despite this, a study by NSW Health (2022) cited that people would not donate the organs of their next of kin if their heartbeat was sustained artificially, even if they were proclaimed brain-dead.