2007年VOA标准英语-Limited Organ Transplant Availability Poses Que

By Melinda Smith
Washington, DC
12 January 2007
 
watch Organ Donor¹ report

 
Human tissue for transplant being delivered to a hospital
The traffic in human organs for transplantation is a volatile² issue in the medical community and among desperately³ ill patients in need of more than just hope.  Advances in surgical⁴ techniques have made the distribution of organs, cells and tissue a real option.  But there is a worldwide gap between demand and supply.  VOA's Melinda Smith has the story of one man's effort to give potential donors⁵ a place in line.

When Dave Undis sits down at his computer, he is on a mission: trying to change the way human organs are distributed in the United States. 

"Why would you want to give your organ to someone who is not willing to share their own?" he asks.

Undis is the founder⁶ of an organization called "Lifesharers".  He calls it an 'organ circle' that promotes a simple concept: LifeSharers members promise to donate upon their death, and they give fellow members first access to their organs. As LifeSharer members, they or their loved ones would have access to organs that otherwise may not be available to them. As the LifeSharers network grows, the organization says more organs would then become available to members.

Michael Neeley has signed up.  He is ill with hepatitis and needs a new liver. "...I didn't ask for it [the illness].  I have to deal with the hand [situation] I have."

It is difficult to estimate how many patients are waiting for organ transplants around the world.  But the World Health Organization has raised concerns about the legal and illegal traffic of human body parts, especially in those countries where the process is not tightly regulated.  The WHO says that while there are voluntary registries and some nations have imposed mandatory⁷ registration⁸ of transplant procedures, there is no widespread method of collecting the data.

Here in the United States, matching a patient with a deceased donor means finding that donor through a labyrinth⁹ of state organizations.  About half of the 50 states keep track of those who sign a donor agreement on the back of most drivers’ licenses¹⁰.   Michael Neeley is one of at least 94,000 Americans on a waiting list to get a transplant.  Some ahead of him will die before their names are called. 

The director of liver and transplant programs at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee is critical of the 'members only' policy of Lifesharers.  Dr. Michael Porayko thinks it puts unwilling¹¹ pressure on people. "I don't think this is going to help us force people to sign donor cards.  We have never seen a positive thing from trying to force the issue."

Dave Undis of Lifesharers disagrees. "If you can get an organ without agreeing to donate your own, a lot of people will take advantage of that.  These freeriders are the big problem that are causing people to die."

The number of willing donors on the Lifesharers' list amounts to just a few thousand.  Perhaps not enough to guarantee a transplant for everyone who needs one, but the group's organizers say more people are signing up. That has given Michael Neeley some optimism. "By joining Lifesharers, I open another door for finding myself a potential donor.  But I also am able to donate."

There are many links on the Internet to organ donor organizations around the world.  Michael Neeley is hoping that others will feel the same way he does: that it really is just as important to give as to receive.

1 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

2 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

3 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

4 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

5 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

7 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

8 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

9 labyrinth   

n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路

参考例句：

• He wandered through the labyrinth of the alleyways.他在迷宫似的小巷中闲逛。
• The human mind is a labyrinth.人的心灵是一座迷宫。

10 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

11 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。