ration and circulation artificially in persons who are considered dead so that their organs can be removed and used to save someone else's life (Landau). This technology is called artificial life support systems. Life support systems are used on patients with brain function when the physician is actively treating the patient. They are also used or continue to be used for organ donation when the patient has become brain dead. Society struggles with the understanding that when someone is brain dead and being maintained on life support systems that allow their heart's to beat and their breathing to continue, that patient is never coming back. The conflict in the definition of death arises when the opportunity of organ donation is presented.
             Throughout the nation, there are not enough transplantable organs to go around. Statistics show that the majority of people in the United States are willing to donate their organs upon death, and even more indicated their willingness to donate organs of a loved one if they know that was their wish. More than half of the eligible donors refuse to donate their recently decreased family member's organs because they don't know how the decreased felt about organ donation (MacPherson). In June of 1998 there were fifty-nine thousand nine hundred fifty-four patients across the nation waiting for an organ transplant and last year nineteen thousand nine hundred sixteen patients actually received transplants (Frei). Unfortunately less than one-fifth of the American people actually sign donor cards (Fentiman). Every 18 minutes another person is added to the waiting list. (Frei). In the four days a high school student is given to research organ donation forty people died waiting for organs, but why?
             Many myths are associated with organ donation. Myths on organ donations are created due to lack of knowledge. More and more evidence suggests that Americans are either unaware of the organ shortage o...