Short Communication Open Access

Organ shortage a current critical dilemma for public health

Abstract

From the mid twentieth century, organ and tissue transplants began to become a new and surprising ad­vancement of medicine maintaining or recover the life of patients inexorably doomed to lose it, through an alternative basically offered by the death itself. The possibility of the use of organs and tissues of deceased patients had become a real option of success thanks to therapeutic and immunological advances, giving to society the chance to reduce the transplant with living donor to the minimum necessary. While global statistics show that surveys conducted at all social levels show a significant positive expression towards donation, at the time of the death of a loved one, this express positive decision decreases by 50%. Unfortunately, the course of the years, showed a persistent people’s inadequate behavior to organ donation. This real social drama requires a deep analysis of its causes to overcome it at all levels. The constant and growing death of patients on the waiting list, which undoubtedly represents an unjust death, is certainly an act of lese majesty that society pro­duces against itself. Making to understand at all social levels the basic details of what organ transplants means to the people and as well, the inhibitory barriers that prevent their full awareness at the time of the decision to donate, will be the basic elements to fight against a new worldwide health risk: The alternative to die waiting for the organ that will not arrive on time or never. A French philosopher Jean Rostand said, “To dream you have to know”, our goal then is to try to make that society at all levels professional or not, have the chance to discern through knowledge free of barriers, what should be their behaviour to fight against organ shortage.   

Félix Cantarovich