Organ donors should come first

The Edmond Sun

EDMOND May 05, 2008 12:31 pm

— To the Editor:
The generosity of live organ donors like Edmond’s John Blagg is wonderful. (Local doctor’s organ donation saves sister, The Edmond Sun, May 2). It’s a shame we need so many live organ donors. Americans bury or cremate 20,000 transplantable organs every year.
There is another good way to put a big dent in the organ shortage — if you don’t agree to donate your organs when you die, then you go to the back of the waiting list if you ever need an organ to live.
Giving organs first to organ donors will convince more people to register as organ donors. It also will make the organ allocation system more fair. About 50 percent of the organs transplanted in the United States go to people who haven’t agreed to donate their own organs when they die.
Anyone who wants to donate their organs to others who have agreed to donate theirs can join LifeSharers. LifeSharers is a nonprofit network of organ donors who agree to offer their organs first to other organ donors when they die. Membership is free at www.lifesharers.org or by calling 1-888-ORGAN88.
There is no age limit, parents can enroll their minor children, and no one is excluded due to any pre-existing medical condition. LifeSharers has 11,279 members, including 77 members in Oklahoma.
David J. Undis
Nashville

DAVID J. UNDIS is executive director of LifeSharers.