Organ Donation

[elSicomoro]

I originally posted a story from this past week's Philadelphia Inquirer (which I'll put back up later), but it actually inspired me to start a thread I've been thinking about for some time now. We discussed this a little bit in a previous thread.

Organ Donation...it has become a rather personal issue to me in the past year. You've probably seen the link in my sig line. In many US states, you are asked whether you wish to be an organ donor, and it is noted on your DL. (In Missouri, you sign the back of your DL and have two witnesses sign as well.)

I can't stress enough to people how important it is just to THINK about becoming an organ donor. Certainly, there are some out there who have personal concerns with donating, but I think it's incredibly important to give it some serious thought.

The US Department of Health and Human Services has a great website set up, which includes a good FAQ. Here are some other good sites:

Transweb

Coalition on Donation

United Network for Organ Sharing

Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network

National Minority Organ Tissue Transplantation Education Program

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So, why should you donate your organs?

--If you die and choose burial, your organs are going to rot. Why not give someone an opportunity to continue their life? Not to mention, you won't be in any pain if you donate upon death.

--Donation is not banned by most major religions. In fact, many of them encourage it. (Transweb)

--Donating your organs will not affect an open-casket funeral. (US Dept. of HHS)

--16 people die waiting for a new organ every day. (US Dept. of HHS)

--85,000 people are currently waiting for an organ, almost 65% of those for a kidney. (OPTN)

--Donation rates are particularly low for minorities, and some diseases that could lead to transplantation (such as diabetes) are more prevalent among minorities. (OPTN and US Dept. of HHS)

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Feel free to share your own thoughts or concerns here.