Notifications
Clear all
Topic starter
Some efforts are being made to reevaluate the ranking of patients on organ transplant lists. Many folks seem to think those who have agreed to be organ donors should be given preference when needing a donated organ over those who have declined to be organ donors. Questions about scooters always make me wonder so I'm going to ask: VI drivers licenses indicate whether one wishes to donate one's organs. Do donor organs from USVI residents ever get used? I'm guessing organ transplantation is beyond the capabilities of our fine VI hospitals, and flying organs to FL is presumably uses up too much valuable time, but perhaps donor organs get flown to Puerto Rico? Does anyone know?
Posted : May 2, 2007 7:59 pm
I don't know the answer to your question, but I bet Chastity is rethinking her wish for a scooter .....as well she should!
Posted : May 2, 2007 8:10 pm
Hmm....interesting question.
Posted : May 2, 2007 8:55 pm
dnt: There is a program encouraging minority donors with the acronym MOTEP or MOTTEP. The hospital does call a centralized retrieval team, maybe in PR, when a potential donor dies. There are many cultural roadblocks to organ donation.
Posted : May 2, 2007 9:51 pm
Topic starter
Hi EE.
I thought you'd reply to my query 🙂 I'm familiar with MOTTEP (Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program) and the cultural factors that prevent many here from being organ donors. Since you know that local donor organs are retrieved, they must go somewhere but I would imagine there'd be some problems using West Indian organs in Hispanics so there may not be much of a need for our organs on Puerto Rico. Sending local donor organs to hospitals on Caribbean islands with transplant programs and large West Indian populations would make the most sense but I haven't heard of such international organ sharing arrangements. Maybe Puerto Rico only uses some subset of a donors organs for transplants that aren't race specific. Curiouser and curiouser...
Posted : May 2, 2007 10:08 pm
I will make a couple of inquiries... And I knew that you knew that other stuff, but thought I'd add it for the discussion! 😉
Posted : May 2, 2007 10:14 pm
Topic starter
"...thought I'd add it for the discussion!"
That's very considerate. I always imagine I'm the only one who dwells on the weird things I think about!
Posted : May 2, 2007 10:40 pm
Okay, so EE and dnt know each other. I don't know anyone! Who am I? Just kidding. Why are there no more get togthers? You all are supposed to be holding down the fort while I am away. 🙂
Teresa
Posted : May 2, 2007 11:08 pm
dnt: What synchronicity. I was talking to someone who is on the list to receive an organ today. He said that it is a stateside list, and if/when they call you have 72 hours to get yourself to the center. Also, we were talking about the transplant program that the former governor had for awhile. He said he did a couple of procedures, wasn't sure what happened. This was before I moved here, so don't have any knowledge of it.
Still working on your questions about donating.
And Teresa, how do you know we don't know you? 😉
Posted : May 3, 2007 10:15 pm
