Myth. If I agree to donate my organs, my doctor or the emergency room staff won't work as hard to save my life. They'll remove my organs as soon as possible to save somebody else.

Reality.  If you have to go to the hospital for treatment, the doctors treating you will be concerned with your safety.  The doctors from the transplant team are not involved in your treatment at all.  This is another one of those TV things where the doctor that is working on you is the same doctor that has a patient upstairs that is waiting for the organ.  It just makes for better TV and limited payroll.  The producers of the show don’t want to have to pay two people to play the doctor.

Myth. Maybe I won't really be dead when they sign my death certificate. It'll be too late for me if they've taken my organs for transplantation. I might have otherwise recovered.

Reality.  This is another effort of the entertainment business to startle and give goose bumps.  There is actually a lot of testing that goes into the process after a person is declared legally dead before the organ removal takes place.  There are many blood tests, organ viability tests and extra tests to make sure that the donor is truly past the point of no return.

Myth. My family will be charged for donating a loved one's organs.

Reality. The organ donor's family is never charged for donating. Your family is charged for the cost of all final efforts to save your loved one's life, and those costs are sometimes misinterpreted as costs related to organ donation. Costs for organ removal go to the transplant recipient. If you receive a bill for what you believe are costs related to organ donation, talk to the billing department of the hospital. You may have misunderstood the charges, or the costs may have been misdirected. Funeral expenses are still the responsibility of the donor's family.

Myth. My loved one has suffered so much because of his illness. I don't want him (or her) to suffer anymore.

Reality. Your loved one is dead at the time of donation and cannot feel pain. Even after death, every effort is made to ensure that your loved one's body is treated with the same degree of respect as is given a living patient.

Myth. Rich, famous and powerful people always seem to move to the front of the line when they need a donor organ. There's no way to ensure that my organs will go to those who've waited the longest or have the most need.

Reality. The rich and famous aren't given priority when it comes to allocating organs. It may seem that way because of the amount of publicity generated when celebrities receive a transplant, but they are treated no differently than anyone else. In fact, the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the organization responsible for maintaining the national organ transplant network, subjects all celebrity transplants to an internal audit to make sure the organ allocation was appropriate. Walter Payton, a Hall Of Fame Professional Football Player, was beloved in Chicago and was given offers from many people to accept a live organ transplant from them to move him up the list.  Mr. Payton refused this offer, telling people that if they wanted to donate, they should give their donation to the next person on the waiting list.  Walter Payton became an outspoken and influential advocate of organ donation and died awaiting his transplant. 

Myth. I want my loved one to have an open casket funeral. That can't happen if his or her organs or tissues have been donated.

Reality. Like an autopsy, organ and tissue donation doesn't interfere with having an open casket funeral. If organs are taken, the body is stitched up as if the person were alive and had undergone surgery. The body is clothed for burial, so the stitches aren't visible. With skin donation, a very thin layer of skin similar to a sunburn peel is taken from the donor's back, and because the donor is clothed and lying on his or her back in the casket, no one can see any difference. For eye donation, an artificial eye is inserted, the lids are closed, and again, no one can tell any difference. For bone donation, a rod is inserted where bone is removed. The body is stitched up and clothed, so no one can see any difference.

Myth. I'm too old to donate. Nobody would want my organs.

Reality. There's no defined cutoff age for donating organs. Organs have been successfully transplanted from donors in their 70s and 80s. The decision to use your organs is based on strict medical criteria, not age. Don't disqualify yourself prematurely. Let the doctors decide at your time of death whether your organs and tissues are suitable for transplantation.  Take it from someone that knows, somebody would be proud to have your organs.

Myth. I'm not in the greatest health, and my eyesight is poor. Nobody would want my organs or tissues.

Reality. Very few medical conditions automatically disqualify you from donating organs. The decision to use an organ is based on strict medical criteria. It may turn out that certain organs are not suitable for transplantation, but other organs and tissues may be fine. Don't disqualify yourself prematurely. Only medical professionals at the time of your death can determine whether your organs are suitable for transplantation.

Myth. I would like to donate one of my kidneys now, rather than wait until my death. But I hear you can't do that unless you're a close family member of someone in need. I don't have a family member in need. I just want to help someone, even a perfect stranger.

Reality. Living organ donors do not have to be related at all.  Many times, people don't chose to donate because they don't personally know someone that needs the organ, but that does not disallow the process.  There are many stories of best friends donating to each other, or husbands donating to wives, etc.  For a current story on this, see the information about the ex- Dallas Cowboy teammates Ron Springs and Everson Walls.  It is a matter of matching statistics, not relationship. 

Myth. I'm under age 18. I'm too young to make this decision.

Reality. That's true, in a legal sense. But your parents can make this decision. You can express to your parents your wish to donate, and your parents might give their consent knowing that it's what you wanted. Children, too, are in need of organ transplants, and they usually need organs smaller than those an adult can provide.

Myth. Organ donation is against my religion.

Reality. With a few notable exceptions, most major religions either encourage or let their members choose to be Organ Donors.  Many see it as an act of love and sacrifice.  If you would like to read about your religions belief position on Organ Donation, you can do so at this website.  If you still I have questions, I urge you to talk to your clergy person about the subject.