MYTHS, PAGE 2

Myth: A history of medical illness or advanced age will automatically eliminate your chance for becoming a donor.

Fact: Age limits for organ donation no longer exist, and at the time of death, qualified medical personnel will review medical and social histories to determine donor suitability on a case-by-case basis.

Myth: Becoming an organ and tissue donor will leave my body disfigured.

Fact: Donated organs and tissues are removed surgically, in a routine operation similar to gallbladder or appendix removal. Donation does not disfigure the body or change the way it looks in any way.

Myth: You can sell your organs.

Fact: The National Organ Transplant Act makes it ILLEGAL to sell human organs and tissues. Violators are subject to fines and imprisonment. Among the reasons for this rule is the concern of Congress that buying and selling of organs might lead to inequitable access to donor organs with the wealthy having an unfair advantage.

Myth: People can recover from brain death.

Fact: It is impossible to recover from brain death. This is a common misconception about the difference between coma and brain death. In a coma (or in varying states of unconsciousness) the brain still functions - even though it may be at a decreased level of function. Patients may, or may not, improve from their unconscious state, but they are not brain dead. Death can occur in two ways: 1) when the heart and lungs stop functioning, and 2) when the brain stops functioning. In cases of brain death, there are no brain waves present, blood will cease to flow to the brain, pupils are unresponsive, and there is no eye movement in response to stimulus. Extensive tests are conducted over a period of hours to rule out every possible sign of brain function.

Myth: Organ recipients acquire their donor's characteristics.

Fact: It is scientifically impossible for transplant recipients to acquire their donor's characteristics. Transplanted organs do not have a memory. The power of suggestion or the experience of the illness and transplant may have an effect on the individual. This can cause the recipient to develop a liking for certain activities not previously enjoyed. Although some transplant recipients believe they acquired their donor's characteristics, this phenomenon has no scientific basis.