More than 100,000 people in the United States are currently on the national organ transplant waitlist. Patients anxiously await the phone call to inform them that a stranger made a decision to donate and will save their lives through organ donations. 

However, amid these noble intentions, misconceptions often cloud public perception about such donations. These myths hinder informed decision-making and lead individuals to say “no” to donations based on false information. Combating these widespread inaccuracies and debunking them with facts is critical if we are to build a culture where the decision to donate is considered a fundamental human responsibility.

April is National Donate Life Month. I am the multicultural community outreach coordinator for one of the nation’s largest organ procurement organizations, which recognizes that this as an important time to celebrate and remember the thousands of organ donors across the country and throughout New England who have made so many life-saving transplants possible. During this month, we take special care to build awareness of and educate the community about donations and dispel the falsehoods that can stand in the way of the gift of life.

Myth #1 “Lots of people die every day so there should be plenty of organ donors. I’ll let someone else donate.”

Fact: The primary reason for the nation’s long transplant waitlist is that very few people die in a manner suitable for organ donation. It is estimated that only one percent of all US deaths, and under three percent of all US hospital deaths, meet the stringent medical requirements for potential donors. A potential donor must have suffered a devastating brain injury and been declared dead in a hospital ICU while on mechanical ventilator support. The potential donor must also be free of cancer, infection, and have had good organ function. Because the opportunity to be a donor after death is so rare, it is especially important that as many of us as possible say “yes” to donation. 

 Myth #2 “If doctors know I am a registered donor, they won’t try as hard to save me.” 

Fact: The reality is that a patient’s donation status is never considered by medical professionals when they are trying to save lives. Their focus is on providing the best possible care to a patient. To be considered as donors, brain-injured patients must have received excellent medical intervention in attempts to save their lives. Because patients must be ventilated, stabilized, and in a hospital ICU at the time of death to be considered as donors, any medical professional who does not appropriately treat a patient to the fullest extent possible prior to his or her death would be putting the opportunity for a donation at risk. 

Myth #3 “I’m too old or have too many medical problems to be an organ donor.”

Fact: Each potential donor is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. When someone dies in a hospital on a ventilator, medical professionals will factor in the overall health of organs, medical history, and the specific needs of the possible transplant recipient. Except for certain cancers, there are no automatic disqualifying health conditions or ages for donation. Individuals with chronic illnesses and those of advanced age routinely become organ donors and save the lives of others. 

Myth #4 “Only the rich and famous can get an organ transplant.”

Fact: Last year, there were nearly 40,000 transplants in the US resulting from deceased individuals who became donors, the 13th straight record year for donation and transplants in a row. Over 55 percent of those receiving transplants had coverage through public insurance programs and over 50 percent of all transplant recipients were non-white, representing a wide range of diversity, races, and ethnicities.

The computerized system that allocates every available organ to the listed transplant patient considers factors such as time waiting on the list, medical urgency, distance from the donor, body, and blood type. The computer does not know how much money patients have, or how famous they might be.

Being well informed of the facts of how donation and transplant occurs is a necessary first step in making the decision to donate life. Unlike other aspects of health care, transplants can only occur when someone says yes to the life-affirming donation question.

It is easy to register your decision to be a donor either through a state driver’s license renewal process, the Apple iPhone health app, or at RegisterMe.org. The old saying still holds true, “To the world you may be one person; but to one person you may be the world.”

Menen Crawlle works at New England Donor Services (NEDS), a leading non-profit organization that coordinates organ and tissue donation across Massachusetts and New England.