Save Lives, Become A Donor

     Certain issues facing the nation are apolitical. Each decent American can sympathize with the plight of their fellow citizens and agree that when lives can be saved, they should. Among these issues, and one I'm particularly passionate about, is the issue of organ donation. 

     From lungs to the heart, the brain, the liver, and the kidneys, one individual can save the lives of up to 8 people with their donations. Should they choose to become an eye or tissue donor, they may impact the lives of up to 75 people affected by burns, blindness, and other ailments. Choosing to register is easy, is in violation of no religious principle, does not affect your quality of care, and is completely free. Less than 2/3 of registered drivers are organ donors, and, in Wisconsin alone, nearly 2,000 people are waiting for life-saving donations. While the number of donors is increasing, there is always room for more.

     One such touching story is that of Charlie, a baby born with only 5% function in his kidneys. He had his bladder drained for months, and, at age 2, he finally received a transplant from a living organ donor. At age 4, Charlie is a healthy, happy little boy who will go on to live a full life. 

     With the average donation of blood every 3 months and 3 lives being saved per donation, up to 12 people may be saved each year of donation for the decades in which a person donates. Marrow donors may only be contacted once or twice or never at all, and marrow is usually extracted through an IV, not through the bone.

     A single donor can quite easily impact or save the lives of 1,000 people, a small community, just by filling out some forms and going into the doctor a few hours a day, a few days a year. If we can recruit everyone to donate, we may be able to stop people from dying from hundreds of forms of disease and accidental injury.