Organ Donations: The Power of Second Chances

Davis, Kimberly, Ebony

YOU know that old saying? The one about second chances? It's not always true. Sometimes, in life, there are second chances. It's often at those times when you expect the worst that your destiny goes in reverse and you get to add more years to your legacy.

For organ recipients, second chances are a reality--an opportunity for a new or improved life. In the African-American community, organ donation has historically been a difficult subject. Of the more than 87,000 people on the nation's growing transplant waiting list, more than 25 percent of them are Black according to research. Experts say that African-Americans as a group have a greater-than-average need for organ and tissue transplantation because of the relatively high incidence in this population of certain medical conditions--high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and kidney disorders--that can cause permanent organ damage.

Social mores or constructs, religious issues and distrust of the medical establishment has meant that fewer Blacks consent to organ donation. Because it's easier to match blood and tissue type to a person of the same ethnicity, that means that many Blacks …

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Publication information: Article title: Organ Donations: The Power of Second Chances. Contributors: Davis, Kimberly - Author. Magazine title: Ebony. Volume: 60. Issue: 9 Publication date: July 2005. Page number: 64+. © 1999 Johnson Publishing Co. COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group.

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