Ashley Sia Yuxin, 16

School: CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School

Topic: Are youths apathetic towards organ donation?

Award: Merit, Senior Category, 2021

Youths today face a unique set of experiences different than any generation before. This essay aims to examine how these experiences have impacted the attitude of youths towards organ donation. Organ transplantation is often considered one of the great advances in modern medicine as it has saved countless lives. It is the process of surgically removing one’s organ and transplanting it into the recipient’s body, in which the recipient has a failed or damaged organ, either due to disease or injury. There are two kinds of organ donation. Firstly, living organ donation which is the process of removing organs such as the liver or kidney from one person and transplanting them to someone whose organs are no longer functioning or functioning at a decreased level. The second kind is donation after the death of the donor. In cases of brain death, vital organs such as the heart and the lungs can be transplanted to the recipient. In cases. of natural deaths only viable tissues such as corneas, skin. and bone can. be donated. The first-ever living organ donor was a 23-year old and Canada’s first living organ donor was a 15-year old. However, the youths of today might have different attitudes towards organ donation than youths in the past. I feel that youths are not apathetic but instead feel strongly against organ donation due to various reasons.

To contextualize the subject of this essay, youths are defined as those aged between 15 and 24. There has been much discourse in medical communities about the donation of organs by youths. Particularly in living donors, primary concerns include youths not being able to comprehend the consequences of living organ donation, the difficulty of confirming their voluntariness to donate, and their ability to balance the challenges of living organ donation. A Swedish study conducted among 1,447 students aged 15-18 years in four urban areas in Sweden revealed that 75% of youths expressed discomfort regarding organ donation and around 50% of them were unwilling to donate organs. I believe that youths are against organ donation due to wariness of the medical risks that arise from donation, a lack of belief in religious principles that encourage donation as well as negative perceptions of organ donation that may be reinforced by parental figures. This essay will focus mainly on non-directed organ transplant, so as to get a better picture of youth’s general attitudes towards organ donation.

Firstly, they might be uncertain about several medical issues that may arise after organ donation. Transplant rejection occurs when transplanted tissue is rejected by the recipient’s immune system, which then destroys the transplanted tissue. This occurs in about 30% of kidney donations (Blausen Medical., 2014). Thus, many may choose not to donate due to the fear that their organs will be wasted. Another factor discouraging youths from becoming living donors is long-term risks, such as high blood pressure. Research shows that people who donate a kidney have slightly higher blood pressure after several years. Living kidney donors also have a higher risk for gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, and fetal loss following kidney donation, so those who potentially might want a child in their future may choose not to become living donors. (Kidney donation, 2020) These medical risks may be even more of a deterrent to youths than other age groups. Due to their young age, youths may be more hesitant to take actions that could impact their future or put any future plans at risk. Additionally, most youths are either in secondary school or tertiary education, which would have a demanding schedule that makes a long-term recovery unfeasible. Thus they may be unwilling to go through the recovery period following organ donation as it could impede their schoolwork as well as their social life. The majority of youths have not achieved financial independence so they could also be worried about the medical fees that arise from complications of organ donation. Hence, youths are wary of the medical risks and are against organ donation.

Secondly, many youths may resist organ donation due to low percentages of youths following religions that support the principles of organ donation. The most widely followed religions in the world are Christianity and Islam, at approximately 31% and 25% respectively. Both religions advocate acts of altruism and encourage their followers to donate organs. For those of the Christian faith, sacrifice and helping others are central to the key ideals of the church. The decision to donate organs is regarded in a positive light and supported by all mainstream Protestant denominations. The Vatican is also a strong supporter of organ donation. Pope John Paul II said in an address to the participants of the Society for Organ Sharing, “With the advent of organ transplantation, which began with blood transfusion, man has found a way to give himself, of his blood and of his body, so that others may continue to live”. As for Muslims, the vast majority of Islam Leaders accept and affirm organ donation during life. However, youths today are less religious than older generations. Their disinclination to follow religious beliefs means that they are not influenced by major religious institutions and their encouragement of organ donation. Generation z, which spans from 1997 to 2012, is the least religious generation in many centuries, approximately one-third of Generation z and Millennial youths are not tied to any religion compared with 23 percent of Generation x. 17 percent of Baby Boomers, and 11 percent of the Silent Generation. This continuing downwards trend reveals that with each successive generation, fewer people are likely to follow any particular religion. Due to their young age, youths left to their own devices may lack the maturity and ability to see the benefits of organ donation or even consider it as an option. Therefore, religious reasons would likely be a strong guiding factor in choosing to donate their organs, but many youths in the current generations do not have this factor in their life. Without the encouragement of religious leaders, they may not have a strong awareness of organ donation and will not be compelled by religious beliefs to commit to organ donation.

Thirdly, youths may be more impressionable than older age groups which could cause their perceptions of organ donations to be impacted by parental figures that view organ donation in a negative light. The C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health at the University of Michigan polled two thousand and five parents with at least one child who was a minor. Only one in four parents polled said that their teenager of driving age was registered as an organ donor, although the opportunity to register is typically available when applying for a driving licence, Parents expressed concerns about organ donation that led them to discourage their children from organ donation. Over fifty percent of the parents polled had concerns about the likelihood of their child receiving access to all treatment options in a Life-or-death situation arising from organ donation. Youths and children on transplant waiting lists have to wait a significantly longer time for available organs than other age groups due to the number of organ transplants from those of similar age with appropriately sized organs being lower. Evidently, many parents of youths haw negative perceptions and worries regarding organ donation, which has its effects on the number of youths being willing to donate organs. For the most part, youths. have limited life experience and hence depend mostly on the guidance of their parents to make major life decisions such as organ donation. Their parents may have preconceived notions on organ donation based on outdated practices which gives rise to the perpetuation of a cycle of low organ donation rates. Even when efforts are made by schools, governments and other organizations to impart a positive impression of organ donations on youths, parents and family members are still their primary influence and hence these efforts would be in vain as youths would tend to mirror their parental figures’ beliefs.

In conclusion, youths are not apathetic towards organ donation and are against organ donation. This can be attributed to hesitance regarding the procedures involved with organ donation and their associated risks, a lack of religious beliefs that encourage organ donation, and negative influence from parental figures regarding organ donation. A negative attitude held by youths definitely worrying as organ donation is highly important and essential towards saving lives and prolonging lifespans in our society. Thus, in order to combat all these factors hat discourage youths from donating their organs, there must be an effort to educate youths and encourage them to donate their organs, and indeed, there have been efforts made in many countries in the form of public perception campaigns and more. It can only be hoped that youths will start having a more positive and open attitude towards organ donation in the future.

References

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Disclaimer: Please note that the views and opinions expressed in the essays for the Live On Festival 2021 are those of the participants and are not endorsed by the National Organ Transplant Unit (Ministry of Health).

To learn more about organ donation and organ transplantation in Singapore, please visit www.liveon.gov.sg