Organ Donation Dilemmas

- Kerry Hughes 

Organ donation is a topic that is rarely discussed, except when one is in need of one. However, they the topic is currently back in the news, particularly in the case of a 10 year old little girl, Sarah Murnaghan. Sarah has cystic fibrosis and is in need of both a lung and liver transplant.

Due to the organization of the transplant list, there are two separate lists: one for children under 12 and one for adults. Sarah would be on the under 12 list. The idea of separating the lists came from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, which has handled transplant policy for the federal government since 2005. The reasoning for needing two lists was that children are smaller, so they need smaller organs.

Now, with two lists, adults and children can be sure to receive appropriately-sized organs. It is important to note, however, that children only receive organs after they have been offered to the adult list or in minimal numbers through their own transplant list. The fact is there are far more transplantable organs available for adults than children: 1,700 transplantable lungs were on the list last year, but only 20 came from donors under 11. 

Sarah’s parents and a PA congressman, Lou Barletta, petitioned the courts to allow Murnaghan to be exempt from the rule that places her on the list for under 12 year olds. Some transplant specialists stated that these guidelines have become outdated and that there is no medical reason not to transplant a matched organ, based on blood type and size. Appeals were made to the Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, but she chose not to intervene in this case.

In related news, there has been growing concern from the medical community that the courts are making medical decision instead of doctors. The worry is that a risky precedent is…continue reading 

The Morning After

- Kerry Hughes

The morning after pill will now be made readily available for women without a prescription in drug stores in the United States. The government has decided to stop trying to block availability of the pill based on age. Now a woman can walk into a pharmacy and purchase the pill without age restrictions. The Food and Drug Administration approved the lifting of age restrictions in 2011, but secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, overturned it. This limited the sale to people over the age of 17.

Due to Sebelius’s change to the FDA’s recommendation, there was a lawsuit filed by Women’s Reproductive Rights Groups. Judge Edward Korman ruled that two types of emergency contraception should be made available without restriction, age or prescriptions, but the court decided to wait and see if the ruling had ‘merit’. On Monday, June 10, 2013, the Justice Department and Obama Administration decided to allow Judge Korman’s ruling to go into effect. The Justice Department realized that the case may be lost in the appeals courts, which would then elevate the case to the level of the Supreme Court if pursued, and therefore the Department decided to drop its obstruction to the availability of the birth control.

Consequently, Plan B as well as other generic forms of the morning after pill will be available over the counter without a prescription. Judge Korman had ruled that the pills should be made available on drugstore shelves next to condoms and tampons. The FDA plans to drop its appeal of Korman’s ruling, as the administration has instead asked the Plan B manufacturers to submit an application for approval of an one-pill application. The type of morning after pill that is an EC or two pills containing hormones to prevent pregnancy will be made available over the counter immediately.

The move by the secretary to overrule the FDA and change its recommendations for the restrictions on morning after pills was seen as… continue reading 

A Delicate Balance: Family and Career, With Dating Tips from the Government?

The modern "Alice In Wonderland" from the Singaporean fairy tale campaign. Her crop-top says "YOLO" and her license plate reads "live fast", reflecting her reckless lifestyle and rash behavior. Image Source: thesingaporeanfairytale.com

A government-backed campaign in Singapore recently started a project with aims to raise awareness about the benefits of starting a family at a relatively younger age rather than waiting until after 40, at which point childbearing risks increase and fertility drops some 95%. The campaign has rewritten fairytales, given them a “modern” spin, and targeted all women, particularly those ages 21-30. The new fairytales can be found online and are also being distributed on University campuses. Examples include a revamp of Alice In Wonderland, now a story of a young carefree woman whose rash decisions and actions take a toll on her health and cause complications when she decides to finally have children. Each story’s moral explicitly educates women about different risks that come with certain lifestyles and the benefits to having children before it’s too late. One such highlighted benefit is the ability for younger parents to keep active with the children in their early years. The government has already launched many campaigns and backed projects that in essence teach its citizens to flirt and promote activities like speed dating to help increase the younger population. In one of their publications, they have coined the term SNIP, “Singaporean New Independent Princess” to describe the country’s corporate women today.

So, why is this a pressing issue? Why is the government concerned with promoting relationships and starting a family? To find the answer one only has to look at certain social statistics: Singaporeans work the longest hours of any country worldwide and many corporate women are more concerned with furthering their careers than starting a family. Even those who want to start a family have difficulty finding the time given the heavy workload and responsibility in their jobs. For many, the issue is an afterthought and an eventuality that doesn’t necessarily require their full attention because they feel everything should fall into place in due time. Unfortunately, some are hit with the harsh realities of how fast time flies and the population is ageing fast with low birth rates. In addition, the government has passed a bill within the last month that grants citizenship to more foreigners and it is projected that by 2030, native Singaporeans will only make up around half of the population. It appears the population is truly at a critical stage, yet one can’t help but find the idea of government intervention with dating a tad…unnatural.

In many societies today, we hear jumblers* giving their own viewpoint on marriage. Opinions differ, but it seems that there has been a significant shift towards waiting before settling down. We want to cultivate our individual path, enjoy our youth and focus on building our careers before worrying about such a definitive and serious step. After putting such effort into our studies and accruing debt from student loans, it is only right that we give priority to our careers and supporting ourselves before anything else. What’s more, we are always hearing horror stories about high divorce rates and marriage trouble which seems none too appealing, at least not any time soon. Most of us require a certain level of financial stability for our couple, wanting even to own a home, before moving forward with marriage- let alone children- and this takes time to build. It’s clearly not just a matter of deciding to have children once we’ve hit a certain age, yet it is somewhat common to hear that jumblers* do have a general plan.

For many the plan is flexible, maybe a general aim of being married by 28 if we’ve met the right person. For others, particularly women, the plan can be quite strict because they do take into account the “biological clock”. Take this for example: a woman who hopes to have four children and wants to space each child two years apart might plan on having her first child by age 30 in order to still be under 40 when she has her last child, since she is aware that complications increase at that age. That being said, she doesn’t plan on having children the first year of marriage, but rather wants to allow for one year of marriage without children. Furthermore, she doesn’t want to jump right into marriage with just anyone but wants to be certain of her decision, requiring at least three years of dating before getting engaged and one year for planning the wedding, etc. In order for all of this to go as planned, she would ideally start dating her future husband by age 25. With the difficulties that come with making relationships work and finding someone compatible enough in the first place, one wants to allow for a certain cushion of trial and error. Given that the average age of graduation from undergrad is around 21 (keeping in mind that a good number of students opt for higher degrees and may not choose to date seriously while in school), this allows for about four years of “trial and error” before arriving at the deadline to have met a suitable partner.

Needless to say, just listening to (or reading about) these plans can be overwhelming, and it’s much easier to just have faith that things will work out. It is important, however, to note that plenty of young adults make the conscious and educated decision not to get married or not to have children, which is ,of course, fully within their right. At the same time, for those who do plan on starting a family, the current situation in Singapore reminds us that time is still of the essence and we may need to take more control than we’d like to, even if it feels a bit forced.

N.W.S

*"Jumbler" is a new term more directly describing the age-group between the open-ended “young adult” and the broad “adults”. A jumbler is an intellectually sound and aware 17-27 year old with opinions and genuine concern or interest in the world around him/her as well as the issues affecting its communities.


This blog, JumbleTalk, and our news source website www.jumbletalk.com are completely run and written by jumblers, giving them a voice and outlet that reflects their influential, relevant opinions and their strong abilities and skills.


Sources: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/22/singapore-fairytales-warn-declining-fertility#
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/27/singapore-fairy-tales-female-fertility_n_2956993.html

The Pressure and the Path

Image Source: http://www.rei.ase.ro/index.php?cat=24

The jumblers* of today, soon-to-be grads and recent grads alike, are all undergoing what I deem to be a somewhat unique experience. We've got the pressure of learning to survive on our own and provide for ourselves in an economic situation (yes, still) that makes it difficult to find jobs at all, nevermind jobs in the field you studied...and nevermind working for that one company you always had your heart set on. It's harder mainly because even if before now there were already a lot of recent grads applying for the same entry-level positions, we have to remember that now many recent grads are competing against much older applicants who may have been laid off but who at least can attest to the seven+ years of experience they have in the field and who don't mind starting off at a lower salary than they were once earning because, let's face it, it's better than unemployment. We're saved by the appeal of our young spirit and "fresh outlook" that hiring managers may crave but the situation certainly isn't raising our chances.

What's worse is that companies know this and since they, too, are in need of cutting back costs, they can get away with only offering unpaid intern positions that for the majority of recent grads is better than nothing and at the very least adds to their "experience" when applying to the next job. But at the same time, it doesn't feed or house them and at some point choosing the retail position at minimum wage is better than getting into serious trouble over failure to repay student loans and or having to live off of friends and family. There's something psychologically unnerving about having finally arrived as a graduate and intellectually sound adult whose mindset is adapting to autonomy, self-sufficiency, and the general trauma of realizing s/he is in the real world and not getting any younger....but at the same time living back with the parents, in the old house and possibly under some similar rules as when s/he was in high-school. Psychologically unnerving indeed. It's not easy and even realizing that a lot of us are in the same position doesn't really help ease the blow to our pride.

And the worst bit of it all is that a good number of those who end up having to take the retail job to pay back loans or simply pay rent won't end up returning back to the field of work or positions they had originally decided upon and instead will realize that three-five years have gone by and they are stuck in the same city or have taken yet another job that isn't bringing them any closer to what they had hoped for...but at least it pays the bills. Now, there are plenty who go on from undergraduate to continue studies for higher degrees. For many this was always the plan and then we have those who choose grad school simply by default after searching high and low for a good job. This, of course, is done in good faith that the higher degree will tip the scales to their advantage when applying again. Makes sense, but for some it only adds on more debt and more pressure as you pass yet another birthday and creep up the ladder of 20-something without a grand sense of security in the job market. Settling for anything starts to seem almost inevitable...

Yet, even this is not the unique part. The unique part now, and the curveball in this 20-something community, is the "start-up" culture. The prominence and accessibility of starting a business is influencing and motivating young minds with bright ideas. With a large number of them in the tech sphere (social media, games, apps, etc), young minds feel they have the best chances of becoming successful considering we are the generation that most appreciates, understands, depends on and uses this technology. Makes sense; easier to make something for a target audience when you can completely relate with said audience and many of us, in my opinion, truly do have great ideas for apps and social media sites. Putting it into place and sticking with it is the hard part, but with this start-up culture booming, it is probably easier than ever before to at least know which direction to turn and who to contact, if nothing else.

Image Source: http://elitedaily.com/elite/2012/generationy-launch-startups/

We see the older generation getting laid off from companies they've worked with for decades or once-secure government jobs and we're none too impressed. Why work for the man and let him decide your fate when we're young and innovative, creative and inspired!? Being your own boss, working for yourself, and really making something of your own name is much more appealing to some of us than working on a design, advertisement, article, report under our boss' name or the name of another company, big or small. We worked hard and slaved away at school to get the know-how and now we can build, write, plan, code, and design on our own. What's more, we've got plenty of friends in different fields who are talented in their own way to help with whatever skill we're lacking in order to really bring the idea to fruition. And the best part? There are plenty of start-up companies and investors and retreats and competitions that remind us it really is quite possible today to make it work. That certainly hasn't always been the case and those with our ideas in the past would have found it a much more daunting task to hunt for support and funding without a wealthy connection or family backing. So this motivates us and on any campus you'll hear talk of start-up ideas on a regular basis.

But as I observe this, I can't help but wonder....with so many of us trying, can we all make it? What will be the deciding factors?

It will certainly take character. With any business venture, there are particular personality traits and characteristics that make or break the entrepreneur. For the most part they are clear: leader who also knows how to follow and learn from others, creative, risk-taker, diligent, focused, resourceful, confident in the plan, dedicated to the realization of the goal, etc. The most important factor that always pops into my head however, when I listen to my fellow 20-somethings talk about business ideas or start-up ventures, is perseverance. Unfortunately, a downside to the fact that start-up talk is so commonplace allows people to forget the struggle any business requires in the beginning. Dreams of quick success, heavy investors or large acquisition payouts from a company who falls in love with the idea seem to be the talk of many, but let us not forget to be realistic. I'm not saying to not aim for that, if that be your goal, but I get the impression that many wouldn't know how to persevere with the idea once a year has passed without a big sell.

That being said, perhaps the determining factor for many will be their reason and motivation behind the start-up. Those who are really motivated by the project itself will have a better reason to keep pushing forward when success is not immediate because they have confidence in the idea and dreams of realizing the goal as opposed to dreams of just doing whatever minimal work to get a big payout. If the goal is only to become successful within the year then no matter how great the idea is, its success will completely be dictated by time. In other words, with goals like that, not meeting the right investor or choosing the right pitch/plan within 12 months means the project is dead because you lose hope, when in reality forging ahead may mean that by month 32 everything works out because in fact the idea itself was a successful one.

Image Source: http://adolfoplasencia.es/blog/category/startup/

Although we tend to hear a lot about those startups that are huge hits within the first two years (because those are the notable ones), I know that most business ventures take a good amount of time to grow, many of which won't see any substantial monetary success without decades of hard work. Those who will be easily discouraged by setbacks or having to tweak plans and timelines won't be able to make it. Perseverance and the ability to work diligently towards a goal of the future without seeing rewards right away is a must. The ability to sacrifice on certain fleeting pleasures for the benefit of the bigger picture is difficult but also necessary. Depending on the age, sacrifices may seem as simple as saving money for the project instead of buying loads of alcohol for that forgettable party or choosing to devote time to work instead of impulsive outings with friends. These can be difficult decisions at some schools where the norm is to spend downtime partying and socializing once schoolwork or that part-time job has tuckered us out for the day.

It's always impressive and admirable to hear students explain that they didn't go out because they were working on a side project or they really wanted to finish that draft of the business plan for which they'd given themselves a deadline. Staying in when you know you have a report due the next day and the deadline is given by your professor is much easier than being able to stay on track when it comes to a personal project and making that choice for yourself. Don't cut socializing out of course, but moderation is key and at some point, the realities of graduation will hit you and you'll be left wishing you started focusing earlier. As soon as you have that diploma you lose the excuse of "still being a student"/"'focusing' on schoolwork", etc. Officially overqualified for the "student" option on the drop-down tab for profession but left hanging in the balance...already lumped in a group with most of the same expectations as the 30+. You quickly go from "young and figuring things out" to "lazy and unfocused".

 I, for one, have high hopes for those venturing in this direction and definitely have an eye on some of my fellow 20-somethings who show great promise. It will be interesting in many many years to come to see what path they take and where they arrive. I sincerely wish us all the best of luck.

May we persevere.  
--N.W.S


*"Jumbler" is a new term more directly describing the age-group between the open-ended “young adult” and the broad “adults”. A jumbler is an intellectually sound and aware 17-27 year old with opinions and genuine concern or interest in the world around him/her as well as the issues affecting its communities.

This blog, JumbleTalk, and our news source website www.jumbletalk.com are completely run and written by jumblers, giving them a voice and outlet that reflects their influential, relevant opinions and their strong abilities and skills.