Karl Cassel

CPO #361
COMM201
Speech to Actuate Outline
December 4, 2015

I. Introduction (Attention)
A. *Organ Donation PSA video clip*
B. I am here today to speak on behalf of the 21 people that die every
day while waiting for an organ transplant (Facts About Organ Donation, 2015).
C. You all sitting here today are potential donors, which is I am
speaking to you in order to inform and motivate you to take action.
D. During our time, I will show you the pressing issue caused by a
lack of donors and the demand for organs to be transplanted.
E. Then I will explain to you how this problem can be addressed and
what the process of acquiring an organ for transplantation could look like.
F. Lastly, I will show you how you can make a difference and implore
you to take action and counter this growing problem.
G. Thesis: Thus, everyone should become an organ donor to fight
for those who wait for new life.
II. There is a vast need for organ donors and a high demand for organs to be
transplanted which will save the lives of thousands of people. (Need)
A. Here are a few statistics to start with that highlight this great need:
1. There are currently 123,000 Americans on the
waiting list for a lifesaving organ transplant, with another person being
added to this list every 12 minutes (Facts and Myths, 2015).
2. If action is not taken quickly, this need will only
worsen and the gap of donors and recipients will only become greater.
3. Further, seven percent of people on this waiting list,
or 6,500 people each year, will die before they receive an organ
transplant (Facts and Myths, 2015).
4. These people that die on waiting lists could be
someone you care about such as a family member or loved one.
B. On a global scale, there is the problem of international organ trade
which consists of people selling their organs outside the country for a great price
in a black market setting, bypassing their neighbors and countrymen who
desperately need an organ transplant, yet cannot afford to buy one (Shimazono,
2007).
 C. I have seen this problem of poverty and international organ trade
at play first hand in the developing world in places such as India and Sudan and
know the severe need for organ donations.
D. To see people wait in line for hours on end in order to be seen by
an American doctor who they believe can heal them, only to be put on another
waiting list for a corneal transplant.
E. The shortage of organs to be donated is affecting people around
the world and could very possibly affect one of us in one form or another in the
future.
III. This great need for organ donors and organs to be transplanted can be aided
and resolved through the active participation of donors both locally as well as globally.
(Satisfaction)
A. I want you to know that it is possible to help and begin to resolve
this issue as it pertains to gaining donors and helping those affected by timely
sacrifices for a transplant.
B. It is important to know that organs can be transplanted both when
a patient is living and after they are deceased (Facts and Myths, 2015).
1. Organs that can be taken from living-donors include
the kidney, or a part of the liver, lung, intestine, blood or bone marrow
(Facts and Myths, 2015).
2. On the other hand, organs that can be donated
from a deceased patient include the heart, liver, kidneys, lungs, pancreas
and small intestines as well as tissues such as corneas, skin, veins, heart
valves, tendons, ligaments and bones (Facts and Myths, 2015).
C. It is also important to note the controversy surrounding this topic
of organ donation where many people believe that in scenarios where a patient is
close to death, doctors will begin to shift their perspective to ways in which that
patients organs can be used in transplant (Stein 2013).
D. This argument can be combatted through the policies set in place
to protect the patient at all costs and keep separation of organ bank workers from
the patient until official death has been confirmed (Stein 2013).
E. However, a key statistic in providing hope for resolution is that
from a single donor, 8 lives can be saved through organ transplants and more
than 50 lives can be altered through tissue transplants (Facts About Organ
Donation, 2015).
F. With this being said, one person can make an immense difference
in many peoples lives and can begin to bridge this vast gap between those who
are severely in need of a transplant.
 G. Therefore, donating organs is the key to saving these people who
helplessly wait on a list for an organ to become available for transplant.
H. Going back to my time in Sudan, I have witnessed the process of
a patient waiting for a corneal transplant and then receiving one and
experiencing a life changing event.
I. To go from blind darkness to light and a new way of life with sight
is an indescribable experience.
IV. It is important to visualize the future and the possibilities that could come if action
was taken toward this shortage of organs for donation.
A. However, if this drastic need for organ transplants is not
addressed, more helpless people will simply wait for the opportunity to receive a
transplant and eventually die.
B. Those 21 people that daily die while waiting for an organ
transplant eventually turns into 147 people that die each week and then 588
people that die each month, all while waiting on the list of patients in need of an
organ transplant (Facts About Organ Donation, 2015).
C. For many people on this waiting list, all it takes is a single organ,
that through the transplant process, can change their life and help put them back
on their feet so they can impact others lives.
D. If more of society gets on board with the idea of organ donation
and become proactive in their raising of awareness to this issue, we can make a
substantial effort in decreasing and eliminating the deficit of organs needed for
transplantation.
V. There are ways in which you can help this situation and contribute to this
pressing need of organ transplants. (Action)
A. The US Department of Health and Human Services recommends
3 important, yet simple, steps in helping the shortage of organs for transplant
(How You Can Help).
1. Register: sign up online on your states donor
registry.
a) This virtually means that you are
consenting to giving any of your vital organs to those that could
use them upon your death.
2. Inform others: bring other people into this
conversation and tell others about the decision you have made to be an
organ donor
3. Get involved: promote donation wherever you are
involved.
 a) For students such as ourselves, this
could look like joining the campaign called Campus Challenge
which seeks to bring donation groups to different college
campuses to raise awareness on the opportunity of organ
donation.
B. Whether you feel lead to participate in all three of these areas, or
just one, the most important part is that you are getting involved and taking a
step to fight this problem.
VI. Conclusion
A. In conclusion, we have looked at the tragic statistics and great
need within the area of organ donation and the search for transplants.
B. However, we have also seen that there is hope and established
ways to resolve this problem and bring new life to the people that so desperately
need our help.
C. Let us be supporters of a cause for new life and help those around
us through the gift of organ donation.
D. To the world, you may be one person, but to one person you may
be the world (One and One Communications).

Citations

Facts About Organ Donation. (2015). Retrieved December 4, 2015, from

http://www.transplants.org/facts-about-organ-donation

Facts and Myths - American Transplant Foundation. (2015). Retrieved December 4, 2015, from
http://www.americantransplantfoundation.org/about-transplant/facts-and-myths/

How You Can Help. (n.d.). Retrieved December 10, 2015, from http://organdonor.gov/howhelp/
One and One Communications. (2010, May 12). Without a transplant organ donation PSA
[video file]. Retrieved December 8, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=5M8R_TuJNPQ

Shimazono, Y. (2007, December 1). The state of the international organ trade: A provisional
picture based on integration of available information. Retrieved December 3, 2015, from
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/85/12/06-039370/en/

Stein, R. (2013, June 24). Proposed changes in organ donation stir debate. Retrieved
December 3, 2015, from http://www.npr.org/sections/health-
shots/2013/06/24/194275901/proposed-changes-in-organ-donation-stir-debate