The recent article titled “50 livers in 2 years: UMMC transplant program thriving”, provided good insight into the area of organ transplantation. Nevertheless, the author did not incorporate any mentions of the role of nurses in this medical procedure, thus failing to recognize their tireless efforts in delivering services to the patients undergoing organ transplantation. Nurses perform a variety of duties during the whole process, and not including their perspective in the article may lead to readers receiving wrong ideas about the procedure.
After reading this article, a person who does not have any knowledge of organ transplantation may think that this process is a simple surgery. Yet, the amount of work done by medical personnel is immeasurable, and nurses are involved in every stage of it, working closely with patients and other members of the transplant team. They often function as coordinators who are at the center of the whole process and perform tasks ranging from answering patients’ questions to managing the waiting list (LaRock, 2018). Additionally, nurses care for donors, the people who consciously decide to give their organs to their loved ones and equally require support and counseling during the course of the procedure.
Moreover, they care for recipients and their families during the time when there are no matching organs available and ensure they safely recover by performing blood replacement after the surgery. Thus, the lack of mentioning the nurses’ role in organ transplantation provides a picture that is not consistent with reality. I hope that in the future, the articles published in the Clarion-Ledger will contain more information about nursing professionals’ work.
Reference
LaRock, H. (2018). How to be a transplant coordinator. Chron. Web.