By Richard F. Denno
Most of us realize the need to register as Organ Donors. Over the months and years, we have read or heard organ donation stories; both successful or unfortunate surrounding the lives of our family, friends and loved ones. Each month, your Masonic Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Program has worked to motivate Freemasons to register as donors online at www.registerme.org .
Motivation is a funny thing. What inspires one person to action may not motivate another to register as either a living or deceased donor. Personal stories of successful transplants, or of patients on the waiting list, for whom an organ comes too late, may influence a potential donor to register. For others, it’s the impact their registration may have on the lives of others. What parent or loved one doesn’t take pride in the accomplishments or impact (there’s that word again) their children have on the lives of others? By the selfless act of organ donation, don’t the recipients of these life saving transplants live on for generations. Many recipients of organ transplants have children, who have children, who have children. The accomplishments of these ancestral lines are shared by those who were born because someone cared enough to register as a donor. Just think of all those organ recipients whose contributions made an impact (!) on the lives of others. In other words, as a donor, you live on in the lives of those recipients after you.
One reason your registration is so desperately needed is that many who register may not, for a variety of reasons, be eligible to donate. Mathematics play an important part in donation. For every 10 patients in need of a kidney; if 5% of those registered are able to donate, 200 registrants are required.
Not wanting to ‘re-invent the wheel,’ I found an EXCELLENT organ/tissue/eye donation website, www.organdonor.gov/learn/lifestoriesHere you’ll find many inspirational donation stories, from both recipients and donor families. There are great informational articles on donation.
Remember – “Don’t Take Your Organs to Heaven – Heaven knows we need them Here!”