Give the Gift of Life...

I know I had made a short but sweet post regarding Organ donation before, but I wanted to get in depth just a little more this time.  Now, believe it or not as a person I can be pretty reserved around people I don’t know… and shy? ..Yes that’s me too sometimes. So thank goodness that God gives me the strength to get some guts sometimes when it is needed!  Though this journey Jason has given me tremendous strength to ask hard questions, get involved, and fight for what I believe in…and the funny thing is,  he doesn’t even know it…

 I became an organ donor at the age of eighteen, and I also made sure to tell my mom and dad my decision also. It made me feel great that someone else could live on because of the awesome choice I made…and I loved that! I have always donated blood until I was told that I could not give blood anymore because of the medication I was taking for my epilepsy, at the hospital where I was working.  Now, I have to clear my conscience here and say that I had given blood and did not let them know I was taking medicine in the fear that I wouldn’t be able to donate. In my young mind, I figured they could just “clean my medicine out” and still use it. It did though, disappointment me very much that I couldn’t help people anymore.

I was talking to an acquaintance one day about Jason and all the updates and when I was finished I asked if they were an organ donor. She sadly said no. When I asked her why, she stated that her uncle (which was a cop) told her not to be an organ donor because the doctor would fight as hard to keep you alive. This just broke my heart. She is in her early 20’s and is just doing what someone else has told her to do, which I can fully relate to that. Its sad though, Would she or her uncle feel that way if someone in their family needed an organ to live?  It is because of this that I wanted to list a few myths about organ donation.

·         The doctors won’t work hard to save my life If I am an organ donor.

 Doctors are dedicated to saving people’s lives…They are not thinking about saving someone’s life instead of your just because you’re an organ donor.

·           I am under 18, I can’t make this decision.

You can make this decision, and it would be an awesome thing! You do however need your parent’s signature.

·         I won’t be able to have an open –casket funeral.

YES YOU CAN! Your friends and family will not see any visible signs of the organ donation. You will still look as Beautiful/ Handsome as ever!

·         I’m too old to donate…

Doctors have successfully transplanted from donors in their 80’s.  Let your doctor decide what will be suitable to use for transplantation.

·         Organ Donation is against my religion.

That may not be true. My religions have belief that organ donation is fine.  If you have questions you can go to OrganDonor.gov, or you can always ask your clergy.

·         My family will be charged if I donate my organs.

This is not true. There is no charge for the donor regarding organ donation. Any cost for organ donation would go to the transplant recipient.

I never asked many people whether they were a organ donor or not. At that time, I knew I was and that’s all that mattered. I don’t know why, but still today when I ask people if they are an organ donor, It almost feels like I’m asking them how much money that have in their bank account. I did a poll on Facebook and Twitter.I was so happy to see that many people don’t take offense when you ask them if they are an organ donor, but I will say I have had some to say yes, that they do think its too personal. While I was doing the research for the post I also found out that only 35% of licensed drivers are registered to be an organ donor that number is way too low and I would definitely like to see that increase in 2012 and the years to come. If I have to ask everyone I meet I will.

*If you are still unsure about Organ Donation, just please know that If you choose to be an organ donor you can help more than 25 people. On average, 18 people die a day waiting for a transplant. Right now there are more than 112,595 Americans on the UNOS Transplant List, 3,164 of them are currently on the Heart Transplant list.  Your legacy will live on forever. I know I will be forever grateful to the person that made an awesome decision to become an organ donor and ultimately give Jason the gift of life. I will wake up every morning beside him, blessing that person , and I would never forget them as long as I live.

If you would like to sign up to be a donor you can visit :

www.donatelife.net

www.dmvnow.com

www.nationalnetworkoforgandonors.org