A Few More Thoughts on Organ Donation
The blog tour is over and the giveaway winner has been announced. (Congratulations, Julie L.!) I loved “meeting” so many new people as Eternal Mercury made its way to all the stops along the tour. But most of all, I feel blessed to have had the chance to share the facts about organ donation.
I was in elementary school when my grandmother began to get sick from polycystic kidney disease. She was on peritoneal dialysis (this is a procedure you do yourself a few times per day) until the day a brave family made the choice to turn their tragedy into hope for others. Because of that selfless act, my grandmother was given thirteen more years of life. What does thirteen years mean? It means that instead of my Gram fading as a distant childhood memory, I actually got to know her. It means that my brother and my youngest cousins, who would’ve never even had the privilege of a fading memory, got to know her, too. Of course it wasn’t just us kids—it was everyone around her who got the chance to see what it looks like to be unstoppable no matter where you came from or what you’re going through. And even at the end of those thirteen years, it was cancer—not kidney failure—that took her home to Heaven. That was a very long time ago, but the gratitude I still feel today for getting the chance to have such a neat lady in my life is more than words can express.
The facts surrounding death are a tough thing to think about, but I truly believe that knowing the facts about organ donation can give us the opportunity to finish well. Organ donation is a gift, a deeply beautiful and precious gift, but a gift just isn’t a gift if it isn’t done willingly. If it isn’t right for you, don’t do it because you should never do something that isn’t right for you. Whatever your decision, please make it known so that your loved ones don’t have to wonder if they’ve made the right choice for you. That’s definitely the right thing to do.
Here are the facts:
*Over 100,000 people, including kids, are in need of transplants. Over 20 of them die waiting each day.
*One person can save up to eight lives by donating their heart, liver, kidneys, lungs, pancreas, and small intestine. That same person can improve the lives of many others through the donation of tissues such corneas, skin, veins, tendons, ligaments, and bones.
*You won’t receive less medical care if you decide to become a donor. Doctors and nurses make every possible effort to save their patients’ lives and will not even consider organ donation unless a person dies.
*Income, social status, and race are not factors in deciding who receives organ transplants. You’ll be helping people who need it the most and your family will not be charged for the procedure.
*Most major religions support organ donation. I’m not sure that there could be a more loving or selfless gift, but don’t be afraid to check with your spiritual advisor.
*Almost anyone can be an organ donor. Age and/or medical history don’t necessarily disqualify you.
Thank you to each and every one of you for taking the time to check out a message that means so much to me!
I was in elementary school when my grandmother began to get sick from polycystic kidney disease. She was on peritoneal dialysis (this is a procedure you do yourself a few times per day) until the day a brave family made the choice to turn their tragedy into hope for others. Because of that selfless act, my grandmother was given thirteen more years of life. What does thirteen years mean? It means that instead of my Gram fading as a distant childhood memory, I actually got to know her. It means that my brother and my youngest cousins, who would’ve never even had the privilege of a fading memory, got to know her, too. Of course it wasn’t just us kids—it was everyone around her who got the chance to see what it looks like to be unstoppable no matter where you came from or what you’re going through. And even at the end of those thirteen years, it was cancer—not kidney failure—that took her home to Heaven. That was a very long time ago, but the gratitude I still feel today for getting the chance to have such a neat lady in my life is more than words can express.
The facts surrounding death are a tough thing to think about, but I truly believe that knowing the facts about organ donation can give us the opportunity to finish well. Organ donation is a gift, a deeply beautiful and precious gift, but a gift just isn’t a gift if it isn’t done willingly. If it isn’t right for you, don’t do it because you should never do something that isn’t right for you. Whatever your decision, please make it known so that your loved ones don’t have to wonder if they’ve made the right choice for you. That’s definitely the right thing to do.
Here are the facts:
*Over 100,000 people, including kids, are in need of transplants. Over 20 of them die waiting each day.
*One person can save up to eight lives by donating their heart, liver, kidneys, lungs, pancreas, and small intestine. That same person can improve the lives of many others through the donation of tissues such corneas, skin, veins, tendons, ligaments, and bones.
*You won’t receive less medical care if you decide to become a donor. Doctors and nurses make every possible effort to save their patients’ lives and will not even consider organ donation unless a person dies.
*Income, social status, and race are not factors in deciding who receives organ transplants. You’ll be helping people who need it the most and your family will not be charged for the procedure.
*Most major religions support organ donation. I’m not sure that there could be a more loving or selfless gift, but don’t be afraid to check with your spiritual advisor.
*Almost anyone can be an organ donor. Age and/or medical history don’t necessarily disqualify you.
Thank you to each and every one of you for taking the time to check out a message that means so much to me!
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