When I die, I want my body to go to someone who needs it. When I am dead, what am I going to do with my body? Nothing. I will either be buried and my body will rot, or I will be burned and my body will turn into ash. My body will be gone and no one will ever see me again. So why shouldn’t I choose to help someone else when I die?
I became an organ donor earlier this month. I first heard about Donate Life America at my best friend’s funeral in 2014. As if my best friend’s death wasn’t enough of a shock already, I was more surprised that she would choose to be an organ donor at such a young age. Then again, death doesn’t discriminate. My best friend’s sudden passing was at the fragile age of 21.
At this time, I thought organ donation was disgusting. My immediate thoughts were someone scrubbed up and cutting, poking and prodding their way into my best friend’s flesh to retrieve her organs. I think my naivety gave me this repulsive image, or maybe it was too many episodes of House and NCIS. I also didn't become an organ donor sooner because I worried that first responders wouldn’t rescue me if they found out I was an organ donor. Again, naivety and confusing fiction with fact.
After researching Donate Life for the first time, I learned that it shouldn’t be looked at as a morbid tale of gloved hands and scalpels like my imagination was originally telling me. The facts and statistics add up to a lot more than the technicalities of how they take and give these organs to people in need.
Transplantation gives hope to thousands of people with organ failure. Every year in America, there are 8,000 deaths because organs are not donated in time. This means that the already 129 million registered donors are not enough because 95% of Americans are in favor of being a donor but only 52% are registered.
What organs and tissues can be transplanted? The heart, heart valves, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas, small intestines, eyes / cornea, bone and associated tissue, skin, veins, and arteries.
You could receive an organ from anyone, of any race, ethnicity, gender, income, or social status (although transplant success is better when matched with people of the same racial or ethnic background).
One person who donates their organs, cornea, and tissue could save up to 8 lives. 655,000 transplants have taken place since 1988, and I’m hoping to give more people the opportunity at life.
If I were to need an organ to live, I would be grateful and owe my life to the donor's family because, without them, I wouldn’t be alive.
I committed to giving life to others when I die, have you?