The Gift of Life

The Gift of Life

(ATTENTION)
After contracting a mild case of pneumonia, Bill, a 21 year old, was told by his doctors that his heart would only last for no more than 3 months.   His only hope was to get a new heart.   A month later, another man has an automobile accident, suffers severe head injuries and dies.   His family is asked by doctors if they would give permission to donate his heart to Bill, but his family is still in grief and mourning and refuse.   Three weeks later Bill also dies.   This is an all too often common experience among potential organ donors and recipients.  

When I moved back to Oklahoma in ’98 I started going to dialysis in Ardmore.   While there at the dialysis center, I met 11 people from my hometown of Sulphur, and became good friends with them.   In the 12 years I have been back, I am the only one of the 12 people on dialysis who has received a transplant.   Three others have died while being on a waiting list and the others are still waiting.   Too many people unnecessarily die each year due to lack of organ donations.   I believe the problem of organ donation shortages can be solved or lessened if a “give one, take one” rule was legalized.

(NEED)
The problem our state faces is a lack of organs and organ donors who make organ transplants possible. According to www.donatelife.net, an average of 18 people die each day from the lack of available organs for transplant.   This averages out to be one Oklahoman dying every three days.   A new name is added to the national waiting list every 16 minutes. That means during this 4 hour class, approximately 16 new names will be added to the list.   That stat averages to two people in Oklahoma every day added to the waiting list.   So, Oklahoma’s averages are one person added daily and one person, in Oklahoma, dying every three days.   www.unos.org states that in Oklahoma there are 20,000 people on the waiting list and there are 2,100 registered donors.   Simple math shows us the need for more people to register...