Thoughts for Thursday: Organ Donation

I was watching the local News the other night and heard a story of a woman who was badly in need of a kidney transplant...... she often stopped at the same coffee shop and when she told one of the women who worked there that she was waiting for a kidney, the woman who worked there decided to get checked to see if she was a match...and she WAS! The coffee shop woman ended up donating her kidney to the woman who needed it, a total stranger.
What an incredible gift!
Got me thinking more about organ donation and I thought it would make a good TFT topic.

I know that in a heartbeat, I would donate a kidney to any of my family or friends if I was a match and it was a life or death situation.  Would you do the same?

What about if you were to die unexpectedly in a car accident, etc....would you donate your organs so that someone else could live?  I know I would....my license is marked! If I am dead, I wouldn't need them anyway, right?!  I know some people might be weirded out by the subject....but just think if it were YOU, or one of your family members who were awaiting a transplant.

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Other TFT posts this week:

Robyn on birthday milestones

April on friendship

Stacy on men being babies when they're sick

Apryl on healthy food

Emilie on idiots who cause fender-benders

Jenny on politician's affair scandals

Comments

[sarah]

yep. organ donation is marked on my license and my family knows that's what I want as well. Take what you need...I certainly won't need it anymore! :)

[Nicole]

Thank you for a very important TFT! My husband is an organ recovery coordinator for the Donor Alliance - when a patient is declared brain dead, he facilitates the recovery and placement of their organs. Colorado is one of several states with 'first person consent'; meaning, that if you designate yourself as a donor, your request will be granted - your family cannot override your decision. This is not the case in all states! In many cases, people have made the decision and the statement that they wish to donate their organs, but their family chooses not to. It is very important for people to not only designate and tell their families that they wish to donate, but to explain to their loved ones their decision and how important it is to them.

Hubs actually attended a conference this past weekend where one of the speakers talked about altruistic donation - you may not be a match for your loved one, but you are a match for somebody. There is a transplant center in New York that actually transplanted 8 kidneys through this concept. It really is the ultimate gift of life - I would not hesitate for a second to donate my organs, the organs of my children (God forbid something should happen), my husbands, or my family's.

I hope that more people will look into organ and tissue donations - it does not interfer with burial requests or cremation, does not cost the donor a penny, and is done with the utmost respect for the donor and their family. (And for those concerned about not being buried 'whole' . . . contact your local mortuary and ask what their practices are - some actually remove internal organs before preparing the body for burial!)

(Sorry that got so long - both hubby and I are very passionate about donation!)

[Nicole]

P.S. Congratulations on becoming an aunt again!

[jessica]

i am also pro-organ donation... it says so right on my driver's license too :) actually, someone in our family is in the (need of a kidney) situation. it is my uncle, my mother's brother. it just so happens, out of 6 siblings, only one is a match. yes, it is my mother. this uncle has been a bar fly for more than 2/3 of his 60 years, drinking and smoking. i would go as far as to call him an alcoholic. now between the two of them, his kidneys are functioning at a whopping 10 percent. because of his lifestyle. now, i have mixed feelings about my mom donating. yes, i love my uncle. yes, it is probably the right thing to do. but when somebody has led a lifestyle that is harmful to themselves and knowingly so - do you just say - oh well, ok, here you go... free pass! because he has NOT changed his lifestyle after finding out the state of his kidneys. anyhow - i don't really have a moral to this story, just wanted to share it. i'm definitely for organ donation in general, especially for those who need it for non-self-inflicted reasons :)

[Robyn]

My license is checked too. I won't anything after I'm gone, if it is working and will save someone have at it. I thought about putting myself on the bone marrow list, I should really look into what that all entails. I would give a kidney to a family member that needed on. I'd think about it for someone else possibly.

[amy]

Kristi, this is an excellent topic. A family friend received a heart transplant almost 10 years ago. They said that he might only live 2 years and now ten years later, he is still here. He truly recieved a the gift of life. It has allowed him to live to see and enjoy his grandchildren. He is a kind man, and without the kindness of a stranger, he might not be here.

Thanks for sharing this valuable information!

[Dave Undis]

Over half of the 98,000 Americans on the national transplant waiting list will die before they get a transplant. Most of these deaths are needless. Americans bury or cremate about 20,000 transplantable organs every year. Over 6,000 of our neighbors suffer and die needlessly every year as a result.

There is a simple way to put a big dent in the organ shortage -- give organs first to people who have agreed to donate their own organs when they die.

Giving organs first to organ donors will convince more people to register as organ donors. It will also make the organ allocation system fairer. People who aren't willing to share the gift of life should go to the back of the waiting list as long as there is a shortage of organs.

Anyone who wants to donate their organs to others who have agreed to donate theirs can join LifeSharers. LifeSharers is a non-profit network of organ donors who agree to offer their organs first to other organ donors when they die. Membership is free at www.lifesharers.org or by calling 1-888-ORGAN88. There is no age limit, parents can enroll their minor children, and no one is excluded due to any pre-existing medical condition.

[zoe]

i worked on a pediatric transplant unit for several years. i will donate everything and i have made sure my family knows of my wishes!

[Rolana]

On my last job, I worked with many people who have received heart transplants. It's truly amazing! I would donate an organ.

[Denise H.]

I am most definitely an organ donor. In high school one of the girls one year older than me got killed in a car accident. She was in fact an organ donor. Her mom spoke at our school a few years later with an amazing story of how her daughter is living on through her organ gift. A lady who came to speak with her mom was a woman who received her daughters heart and because of it, she is able to be here today, raise her children and even became best friends with the girls mom. It was so touching and ever since then, I have marked YES to organ donation.