Organ Donation - The Experience of a 10-Year-Old Boy

You can imagine what was going on in the mind of a 10-year-old boy when he heard that his father was finally receiving a kidney. After watching his father suffer and go through dialysis for a painful amount of years, the various thoughts, questions and emotions that were running through the mind of this 10-year-old in Australia or any child for that matter was never ending.

When a patient is suffering from organ failure along with the patient, the family suffers as well. More so when the patient is the parent, they would have to go through the extra burden of explaining to the children about the circumstance. Whether the children become carers or observers in this situation they expect all their questions to be answered.

‘Organ Donation gives life to more than just the recipient, it gives life to the recipient�s family as well.’

This boy's mother shared her experience, as her ex-husband was very optimistic about his health. She had to be the one explaining to her 10-year-old son about the realities of the situation. She wrote on how she realized that her son would constantly be thinking about the situation and coming up with various questions such as how long one has to wait to receive a kidney and so on.

Children between the age group of five to twelve years are in the age of Industry vs Inferiority, according to researcher Erik Erikson. He talks about how Children at this stage become more aware of themselves as individuals. They make themselves work hard at being good and responsible. According to Allen and Marotz, children at this stage become more eager to learn and accomplish more complex skills.

At this stage children generally learn that death is the final stage for a human being's life and that it happens to everyone. Children who have parents suffering from terminally ill diseases tend to take the burden on their shoulders as well. They are exposed to this side of life where not all children of their age may be exposed to, which can also in certain state of affairs deprive them of having the proper childhood life a child should have.

In the case of this 10-year-old, he made sure he understood everything his father was going through with the help of his mother. He learnt about how the kidneys need to match, how people need to agree to making a donation, what to expect once his father receives a kidney and when he meets his father during his first post-op visit what he would see - hospital gowns, tubes and so on. When this family got the information that the father would be receiving a kidney this 10-year-old boy was euphoric.

He expressed his gratitude by writing a letter to thank the donor family.

"Thank you for your family member who has sadly passed away and donated their kidney to my father. I was really nervous to see him after the operation but I was surprised to see him looking really well. Dad is very happy he is not doing dialysis every day anymore. I think he might live longer now. We would like to meet you one day if you have time. So thank you very much and hopefully we can meet you soon." - An excerpt from the letter of the 10-year-old boy to the donor family of his father.

So, by pledging to be an organ donor you can bring a smile not just to the recipient but to the donor family as well. Make the decision today and don't forget to spread the word!

Source: Medindia