Lukas Cheung Jia Xu, 15

School: Riverside Secondary School

Topic: Are youths apathetic towards organ donation?

Award: Merit, Senior Category, 2021

Our youths- the voice of society

In a dim hospital ward illuminated only by faint ceiling lights, an apprehensive family is on tenterhooks as they sit beside their enervated and feeble daughter, silently awaiting the doctor’s diagnosis. Footsteps clip-clopped down the hallway, and the family shared tacit glances, braced for the worst. “Acute liver failure” rang in their ears for the rest of the gloomy night and beyond, as the long waiting list caused by excess medical demand for organs meant their beloved daughter stood a small chance of receiving a donor’s liver. Far from being an isolated case, the above is but a small representation of a devastating problem that plagues many across the globe.

For the purposes of this essay, youths shall be defined as those between ages 15 to 24, while apathetic shall refer to a general lack of concern and interest to take any form of action. From their familiarity with the internet to their increasing social consciousness, as well as to their strong desire to feel included and part of a community, I am inclined to think that youths are not apathetic towards organ donation and have, instead, been paramount in the advocacy of it.

First and foremost, the familiarity of youths with the internet has been a crucial factor in their championing of organ donation. As the “Digital Generation”, youths have been using the internet for a plethora of deeds, one of which includes promoting the importance of organ donation. Through its vast connections, the internet allows youths to see the forlorn plights of those with diseases such as heart failure, chronic kidney failure, and a myriad of more life-threatening conditions. As such, their empathy for those afflicted has driven them to harness social media’s power to make a difference. For instance, Sam Griner, who as a toddler, was snapped on a beach with a determined expression and one fist clenched - an image that spawned the well-known “success kid meme”. Since then, he has grown up and utilised his former internet fame to raise funds for a kidney transplant for his father with kidney failure. In merely a week, they had raised more than $93,000, far more than the $75,000 needed for the transplant. Primarily propagated by sites with teenagers as the main users, a large part of the success of this campaign can be attributed to youths, who had grown up with the “meme” as it first went viral on the internet. Consequently, it can be seen that youths are not apathetic towards organ donation and their compassion, boosted by the internet’s connectivity, has proven this to be true.

Secondly, the increasing social consciousness of the young generation has proven to be a boon towards organ donation. Globally speaking, youths have been steadily rising as an activistic collective, a socially aware group that believes that they are the catalyst for change. They genuinely care about the world around them and want to make a tangible impact, and this can be attributed to several reasons. From their own experiences with the causes they champion, to their “starry-eyed” idealism to make a positive impact for their future, this has led them to become socially conscious and endowed with a humanitarian outlook on life. For instance, when a 17-year-old Radhika Joshi suffered an agonising loss of a loved one to kidney failure, she wanted to take a stand against this problem and decided to found The Second Chance Project. Only made up of six core members, the team is very devoted to the cause, as they believe in second chances for organs that perish along with each individual and did not want anyone else to suffer the same pain of losing a loved one due to a lack of organs to be donated. Through this, they have been able to inculcate thousands of other youths on the importance of organ donation and taking action by signing up to be an organ donor. Evidently, youths are not apathetic towards organ donation, due to their increasing social consciousness.

Finally, the strong desire of youths to feel included and part of a community has led them to find comfort in fighting for a noble cause with others. Young people, especially with the prevalence of social media usage, have struggled with feeling lonely and isolated from others in the real world. Take for instance, the national survey done by the British Broadcasting Corporation, where it was found that four out of ten young people ages 16 to 24 felt lonely, describing themselves as feeling misunderstood, not having anyone to talk with and feeling detached from the world. Owing to this, a large number of them have found a safe haven from loneliness by participating in the championing of certain social issues, such as organ donation. Through this, they are able to advocate for a good cause while being part of a group with people from all walks of life and come together as a collective whole to fight for a better future. For instance, a study done by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh found that sanctuary was one of the top responses youths cited as reasons for joining activism programmes. The safe and affirming space as well as the opportunity to meet like-minded peers were the driving factors behind this response. Thus, it can be evidently seen that their desire to feel included and part of a community was a contributing facet of youths to champion causes such as organ donation.

In spite of the positive changes that the youth have put into effect, there is still a dominant perception of youths being carefree, apathetic and hedonistic. While it may be true that there are a few bad apples within the age group that do not actively contribute to society, they are outweighed by the good that other youths have collectively done. For example, one of the biggest problems teenagers face is social media addiction, which is mainly due to their low self-esteem and need for validation among other issues. On the other hand, youth climate activists have led a major climate movement that is louder than ever before, demanding action to be taken by politicians and corporations alike. Taking both good and bad sides into account, I am inclined to believe that the youth have had an overall positive impact on society and have dispelled their perception of being irresponsible and remiss.

Some may argue that youths are too preoccupied with other priorities such as schoolwork to even have time to care about organ donation, and over time resulting in their apathy towards the topic. However, this is simply not possible as their schedule could not be so swamped as to not even have any free time for their leisure activities and hobbies. In fact, one way to promote organ donation would be to merely put up a social media post that encourages organ donation, and the whole process would take less than 5 minutes. Just taking the small effort to read up on organ donation updates once in a while would be enough to keep you vested in supporting this noble cause. For example, discovering the truths behind some common misconceptions through trusted websites such as National Health Service helps to paint a clearer picture of organ donation and further emphasises the importance of doing so, thus enforcing the dedication of youths towards championing organ donation. Hence, to say that youths are apathetic towards organ donation because they are too busy is merely fallacious and untrue.

Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa, once said “The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow.” This can already be seen today, where youth activists are leading the charge towards a better future through espousing various causes. In the face of contrary evidence, it is simply disingenuous to say that the youth are apathetic, when their familiarity with the internet, increasing social awareness and desire to be part of a community has driven them to do so much good for society. As more youths join the cause to promote organ donation, perhaps one day, no family will ever need to hear the words “acute kidney failure” at their daughter’s bedside again.

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