Becoming an Organ Donor
Originally published at LoveLure's Luke and Reid Blog. Please leave any comments there.
Luke Tells Holden and Lily About Reid’s Sacrifice
cue to 5:30
Why This Post?
Click to viewOkay, I don’t like this storyline any more than most LuRe fans, but it occurred to me that many of us may not have actually thought about this issue. I just checked my licenses (US/UK) and realized that both look out of date (I know in the past I’ve registered). So I thought I would post this while interest in the topic is high. Hope it’s useful.
Organ Donation: The Statistics
Deciding whether or not to donate your organs is a very personal choice. As we’ve all seen on-screen, the decision can be very traumatic to those who most care about us, at a time they are most vulnerable. Yet many donor families say that knowing other lives have been saved helps them cope with their tragic loss.
One organ donor can save the lives of seven (7) persons. Tissue donation (skin, bones, corneas, heart valves and connective tissue) can better the quality of life of twenty (20) persons, such as giving sight to the blind.
According to the US Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), each day, about 77 people receive organ transplants. However, 19 people die each day waiting for transplants that can’t take place because of the shortage of donated organs. As of late August 2010, there were 108,347 on the transplant waitlist, compared to 11,637 transplants completed in May, and 5,829 donors (each donor can save multiple lives).
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