English 112: May 2006

Monday, May 15, 2006

Melody Gilliard's The Lack of Black Organ Donors (Posted by SunRoc)

Author Melody Gilliard
The Lack of Black Organ Donors
non fiction
Thesis "Decrease in the shortage of black organ donors and increase in the survival.
The book is very interesting, informative, and emotional and brought a tear to my eye. It also different cases where a life would depend on different types of transplants. the kidney dialasis was very scary, and sad knowing people must live like this. I was not aware that bone marrow is used for Leukemia patients, and you can also donate and still lead a healthy life.
How the book affected me:
As far as convincing me to become a donor...still on the fence. Although if there were a crisis and I was asked and it were only up to me, I would. But as quoted in the Author's book: "we shouldnt wait until we are in a crisis to make that decision" Which holds a lot of weight. I do think it did a nice job for convincing (even though I have my own issues with donating). Definately made me think more of the recipients point of view. What if I were the person who needed a transplant, or a loved one? Very grabbing conclusin "There are only 2 steps to save up to 50 lives."

Matters book leaves out: The book is a problem/solution case which was the assignment. I think some preventative steps included would be beneficial. Hyptertension is noted to be a major deadly illness among blacks. The causes are listed such as obesity, high sodium diet and family history. Instead of saying because of this the ultimate result is an organ transplant. Maybe talking about preventative measures to avoid a transplant (in some cases) would be helpful to people in need as well. For instance, obesity can be avoided, and high sodium diets can be altered. However more difficult issues may not be so simple to evaluate.

Possibilities are being able to donate blood, bone marrow, skin, tissue and parts of organs and still lead a healthy life. Chidren are in need of these transplants as well it is not just adults. So if a concern is not wanting to donate b/c an adult may neglect their health afterwards...children may be born sick or with defects and need transplants.