Hi All,
Well since April is organ donation month I thought I would share a story about how an organ donation affected me at one time. When I was in high school (Go Tascosa Rebels!) a girl in one of my classes needed a liver transplant. At the time I really didn't know her except for the fact that she was in my class. One day she told the class that she was going to live in Dallas until she got her liver transplant (we lived in Amarillo at the time) but she wanted to say goodbye in case she never made it back. There wasn't a dry eye in the class. She had a boyfriend that was also in the class and he kept us updated on her status through the weeks and what turned into months. She had gotten really bad and had to be put in the hospital and would not be getting out unless she got the new liver. Well it got down to the very end and her boyfriend was just broken to all pieces and had told us she didn't think she was going to make it and had told him goodbye. In fact I think the doctors didn't think she was going to make it much past a week. Well the next day an announcement came on and the Principle told the school that a match had been found and she was in surgery and you could hear the whole school yell and cheer!! Her boyfriend and everyone just broke down in tears because honestly we didn't think they would find a new liver for her but she made it!! When she came back to Amarillo her parents through her a big party and she looked so healthy!! You never would of known she just had a liver transplant! She told everyone that she honestly didn't think she was going to make it another day when the call came in so she felt like she was saved at literally the last second. She was 16 years old. She was very lucky but there are many people who are not so lucky.
Again, as I've written before, thank you to those of you who are donors, and to those of you who have watched a family member or friend give the gift of life through death.
April is Organ Donation Month in the US. The only reason there is a waiting list for transplant patients is because there are far too few who have seriously considered giving the gift of life to another. Please, if you haven't already, consider becoming a donor today.
One person can save up to seven people's lives.....That is truly a gift!!
Thank you!
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Your friend was very lucky to get a liver transplant. Over half of the 98,000 Americans on the national 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 their neighbors die 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 prepared to share the gift of life should go to the back of the transplant 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.
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