BECOMING AN ORGAN DONOR

By the time this day ends approximately eighteen people will have died needlessly. Not due to car crashes, gang violence or drug overdoses. Surprisingly they will have died from the simple act of waiting. They died while waiting for a much needed organ donation to replace their failing organ. For days, weeks even months they had hoped to receive news that somebody, somewhere had selflessly volunteered to donate their organs upon their death to another human being living on borrowed time. That news never came and time ran out. Perfectly good organs were buried with another non-donor who had no use for them anyhow because that person was already dead, yet without agreeing to give up their organs upon their death another life will be lost. Everyone can help to save lives by donating your vital organs after you have passed away. You will have no further need for them and I promise, you won’t even notice they are gone.
How do you feel when you have to wait for something you really, really want? What if it was something you couldn’t live without? Nearly 80,000 Americans are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant. Hundreds of thousands more would benefit from a life enhancing tissue transplant. Each day, averages of 75 people receive organ transplants. However, averages of 20 people die each day waiting for transplants that can't take place because of the shortage of donated organs. Every eleven minutes another name is added to an organ donation list. One organ donor can save up to 8 lives. Well, my sister was ten years old when she found out she needed a new kidney. She went on the organ waiting list right away. She was called twice during a six month span that they had a kidney available only to find out that the kidney wasn’t a good match. She had to wait again. The third time was a charm. A small adult was in an