Pediatric Organ Donation: A Parent's Guide
Ask Questions
As a parent, it is your right to fully understand the organ donation and procurement process. There may be some restrictions about what you can and can't do in the time leading up to the organ procurement. For example, we weren't allowed to hold our son until just before the surgery because of the risk of him needing blood pressure medicine if moving him raised his blood pressure. Also, we had to keep our son on life support long enough for him to be declared brain dead, which was almost 48 hours in our case.
Speak Up
Once you understand the donation process, make your desires heard. With our son, we didn't want any incisions made in places that would be seen during his funeral. The doctors complied with that request. We also wanted to be sure that only internal organs were taken. We opted not to donate bones, corneas or skin. This was honored as well since it would have been illegal not to comply.
Let Go
This is by far the most difficult part of donating your child's organs. When you tell your child bye, you have to release any ties you have to his organs. You may not think you are tied to his organs, but I can assure you that you are. Once the organs are harvested, they belong to the recipient family. You have to let go of them because there is a chance that you won't ever hear from the recipient family or that many years may go by before you do.
Letting go of your child's organs also helps you to heal. If you try to keep staking a claim to them, you may become obsessed with finding out who got the organs or you may become depressed. Once year hear from a recipient family, there is a chance that you may feel possessive over their child. This is unhealthy for you and the recipient family; however, it is perfectly natural to feel a special connection with the recipient family. You just have to remember that their child isn't your child, despite the shared organ.
Published by Casey L. Holley
Casey Holley is a freelance writer specializing in Christian content and medical content. She has more than a decade of experience. She also enjoys writing about animals, beauty, fitness, weight loss, travel... View profile
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