PEOPLE APPROVE OF DONATING ORGANS, BUT AREN'T SURE HOW

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, April 1, 1993                   TAG: 9304010401
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By CAROLYN CLICK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
PEOPLE APPROVE OF DONATING ORGANS, BUT AREN'T SURE HOW
A nationwide survey released this week shows Americans overwhelmingly support organ donation, but nearly half of those polled do not realize the consent of a family member is necessary to clear such donations.
"What it comes down to is, if they don't speak to their families [about their willingness to donate] . . . the odds of their families saying yes are greatly reduced," said Karen Sokohl, a spokeswoman for Virginias' Organ Procurement Agency.
People like the idea of donating organs . . .
\ Americans are willing . . .
85 percent of Americans approved of organ donation.
79 would undergo a transplant to regain their health.
69 percent said they would be willing to donate their own organs.
5 percent believe organ donation would violate their religious beliefs.\ . . . but it takes more than a donor card
79 percent hold the mistaken belief that the simple act of signing a donor card ensures that the donor's wishes will be carried out.
42 percent aren't aware that the next of kin also must give permission.

104 Virginians died last year waiting for organs\ "The cure for this crisis already exists," said Sokohl. "We've got the answer. You have to remember that one donor can save six lives, not even including tissue and eyes."

Signing donor cards is not enough
Sokohl says those figures suggest that the public has become educated to the importance of signing donor cards - in Virginia, potential donors can sign the back of their drivers' licenses or fill out forms obtained from an OPO - but do not realize they must discuss their wishes in advance with their families.
"We've almost really stressed signing the organ donor card too much," said Sokohl. "The problem is a lot of people mistakenly believe that is all you have to do.
"What really needs to be done is the attending physician needs to have permission from the next of kin." The presence of a family member is also important in supplying vital information about the health of the donor, she said.

The key: Letting family know
93 percent would honor the wishes of a family member if they had expressed a desire to donate their organs. But that figure falls dramatically if the donor did not make his or her wishes known to family members.
"If we could succeed in getting all those people to talk to their families, we are talking aout a considerable number of individuals," said Sokohl.

For more information:
Locally, call the Virginias' Organ Procurement Agency at 703-989-3411 or 1-800-233-8672.

About the poll
The survey was conducted by the Gallup Organization for the Harvard School of Public Health, the Boston-based Partnership for Organ Donation and 17 organ procurement agencies, and sampled the views of 6,127 people across the United States.

April 18-24 is Organ Donor Awareness Week, a good time for families to sit down and discuss their feelings about organ donation and transplantation.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB