October 18, 2016
On the occasion of World Organ Donation Day, let’s take stock of the legislation and figures in France.
Alarming figures
October 17, World Organ Donation Day, provides an opportunity to learn more about the new laws surrounding this practice. Indeed, the health law provides that we are all suspected donors, unless we are registered in the national refusal register. In January 2017, a new law will strengthen this principle of presumed consent. The numbers of people awaiting transplants are exploding. They were 12,512 in 2012, they are 21,464 in 2015. The Biomedicine agency denounces the shortage and wishes to educate the French, because transplants can save many lives.
The medical profession will always consult the family. Talking about it to loved ones before death is therefore a simplification in the procedures and a relief for the family, who then know what decision to adopt without conscience.
Why how ?
In the list of transplants, the liver and kidneys come first. Quite simply because it is possible to donate a liver lobe or a kidney while alive, while remaining in perfect health.
The technique evolves and progresses constantly. Today, specifies the Biomedicine agency, ” 90 to 95% of transplanted kidneys are still functioning after 12 months and 80% of transplants are still perfectly functional 5 years after the transplant “. Encouraging. Concerning the heart, the figures remain stable because the alternatives, such as the implantation of an artificial heart, progress.
When doctors choose the transplant, every minute counts. After the death, the organs only stay alive for a few hours and must be transplanted as soon as possible. The heart should be transplanted within 4 hours of collection, the lung within 6 to 8 hours. The liver can wait up to 18 hours, while the kidney remains viable for about 36 hours depending on the condition of the organ. Hence the need to have expressed your wishes before dying, so as not to lose these precious moments. When the organ is transplanted early, the transplant has a better chance of working and the life of another saved.
Read also: Why should we talk about organ donation?
