While driving back to Brooklyn from St. Louis this past January, I read this article in the NY Times about organ donation. I was so moved by this story that I decided sometime during the new year I would donate one of my kidneys. Needless to say, I have not checked this off my New Year’s Resolutions list…yet.
I have given much thought to this and realize it would not be a decision I could make alone as it would directly affect my family. However, through research and discovery on this topic, I have uncovered a passion of mine. I love and am passionate about the fact that at this very moment my body contains life-saving properties. I love the fact that my body can provide the essential elements needed to save someone’s life. That is truly powerful.
You may remember a few weeks ago I posted about becoming a bone marrow donor. Last week I donated blood for the first time. It was completely invigorating.
You may not be interested in using your body in these ways while alive but I would like to encourage you to think about becoming an organ donor should the unthinkable happen to you. Many lives could be saved by your decision. Go here to find out more.
8 responses so far ↓
Vicki // June 3, 2008 at 11:55 pm |
Excellent, Laura.
My hubby is the donor go-to guy at our hospital. He is the one who has the task of approaching family immediately after a loved ones death to ask those hard questions. (required by law to ask) He used to donate blood, but now takes dilantin for a seizure disorder, so they don’t want it anymore. I have HepC. Nobody wants anything I have…
Donating a kidney is a very big deal. I am far more selfish than you and, if I were able to donate at all, would want to save it in case someone in my own family needed it. (They might need it, but they won’t want it! cooties…) You inspire me to stretch myself on a regular basis.
Sue Young // June 4, 2008 at 8:39 am |
I too have thought alot about it over the last few weeks. I am happy to report that when I lost my wallet and had to get a replacement ID I checked off that I would like to become a donor. I have to speak to my family to let them know that I’ve made this decision. I saw a show on Oprah about it and one life gave life to several, heart lungs, kidneys, eyes (to two people), it’s amazing that through death other can live.
JTB // June 4, 2008 at 12:08 pm |
After an unfortunate event officially labeled “hypostatic crisis” after my last blood donation, the Red Cross respectfully requested that I never come back. I still regret it, as there’s nothing wrong with my blood and I am quite stoic about needles–really an ideal donor, except for the whole fainting/seizures/hospitalization thing.
More seriously, I love this perspective on the human body. Too often we assume our bodies are the things that mark off our individual selves from other people–the barriers that divide us. Human beings are social creatures, and we depend on each other for survival, even when we think we don’t. Sharing the life-giving properties of your body is the ultimate way of affirming that personhood is not just individual but communal…
(And in an entirely different direction, this same perspective is what moves me to be interested in new ways that we can extend this kind of life-giving…)
greeneyes // June 5, 2008 at 12:11 am |
I think you are AWESOME , I may just get my nerve up
What a Perspective! « U.S. Health Care Forum // June 5, 2008 at 11:45 am |
[...] a community must take care of its weakest. This debate has taken an interesting twist in several comments and posts of friends of mine regarding organ donation. Organ donation (especially while alive and for a [...]
Katie // June 5, 2008 at 10:58 pm |
So if you Google “hypostatic crisis” in quotation marks, this blog post is the only thing on the entire Internet that comes up. That is so cool!
Nate // June 7, 2008 at 1:00 am |
I applaud your decision and am glad to see you advocating for organ donation in a public way. Organ harvesting is still one of those taboo topics and the more we talk about it, especially with our loved ones who will make decisions on our behalf, the more comfortable it will become.
Shelley Park // June 11, 2008 at 10:15 pm |
Before you donate a kidney, make sure you have 2. At the age of 35, David found out he only had one.
Crazy, huh?