Friday, October 02, 2009

Organ donation saves lives

Most people think of organ donation in technical terms: The process of transferring healthy organs from one person to another. What many don’t know is that as many as 100,000 people* are on a transplant list, waiting for the organ that will give them another chance at life.

Tom Kasprzak of Chelsea Groton Bank and his wife Joanne know the power of organ donation. When their 15-year-old daughter died, her heart saved a 34-year-old woman with a terminal condition. The Kasprzaks published a book about the experience, “Plain Vanilla with Rainbow Sprinkles,” and the story has made headlines in the region.

Read the latest article here. For facts about organ donation, click here.

Do you know someone who’s life was saved after receiving an organ donation? Share it here.

*Source: Mayo Clinic (www.mayoclinic.com)

Comment
Comment by laura | Wednesday, July 20, 2011, 12:02
Thank you for bringing awareness to this very important issue. Here is my family’s story.

Just after his second birthday, my healthy and active son became suddenly ill. The next 48 hours are unforgettable:
We were admitted to the hospital and told his liver was failing due to an unidentified virus his little body could not fight. His name went straight to the top of the list for the next available donation. None were available. Eligible family members were screened for living donation. (They only take about 10% of the adult donor's liver). Luckily, my sister was able to donate. She went into surgery at 8pm Sunday night, while we all held our breaths to see if my son would remain alive and healthy enough to receive her donation. I said goodbye to my son that night at the OR door.

Miraculously, 12 hours later he came out of surgery - alive. He is turning 9 in exactly one month, and you would never pick him out as the dying transplant boy from 7 years ago.

During the weeks we were in ICU post-transplant, we saw a boy the same age as our son be admitted to the room across from us. His liver was also failing. There weren’t any eligible living or cadaverous donors. That boy did not leave the ICU to see another birthday. I don’t know his name, but I will never forget him.

Again, thank you for bringing awareness to this issue and the dire need for organ donations.
Comment
Comment by Dave Undis | Wednesday, July 20, 2011, 12:03
Over half of the 103,000 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 8,000 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.

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