save lives by becoming an organ donor

people on the lung transplant list often talk about the difficulty of waiting. waiting for "the call," waiting to start living and breathing again. it's a call that instantaneously changes their lives forever. that is if they get the call for lungs that end up being successfully procured, matching their blood type and size and being healthy enough for transplantation. there are lots of "ifs" before the long, painful, incredibly difficult and complication-laden surgery and journey to recovery even begin.

here's the kicker though. the scenario described above is a best case scenario. the sad truth is that not everyone gets so lucky. far too many people die waiting for lungs or hearts or livers or kidneys that never end up coming for them.

we have a major organ shortage in the united states. although the number of organ donors has remained relatively stable over the past few years, the demand for new organs has sharply risen, which has contributed to the desperate shortage we currently face. it's an enormous problem and frankly, it's up to us to try to fix it.

currently, there are nearly 1,630 people on the waiting list for new lungs. hundreds will never get the chance to breathe with new, healthy lungs. the same is true for over 110,000 people waiting for hearts, kidneys, livers, pancreases and all other organs.

they'll die waiting.

in fact, every single day we lose approximately 18 people who are waiting for organs that never come. they die waiting, yearning, hoping for a second chance that never comes. beautiful, promising lives lost. beautiful families ripped apart by loss.

that's the impact of the organ shortage.

in light of these sobering realities and in honor of national donate life month, i encourage you to consider the following facts:

• 1 organ donor can save the lives of up to 8 people. 
• organ donation is only considered after brain death. in other words, being an organ donor does not affect the care you receive during acute sickness or injury. doctors always try to save a patient's life first and foremost. 
• you can donate organs, like your heart, kidneys, pancreas, lungs, liver and intestines, but you can also donate tissues, such as corneas, skin, bone, heart valves and tendons. 

they call it the gift of life for good reason. in your time of grief and loss, you have the opportunity to do something infinitely powerful- you can give others a second chance at life. you can let dads walk their daughters down the aisle, moms cheer for their children in the stands, grandparents see their grandchildren, sons and daughters reach important milestones like high school or college graduation, and people of all ages, backgrounds, races and cultures experience this crazy, beautiful, desperately fragile and precious thing called life.

i know there's no way i'd rather leave this earth than by giving others more time- to love, laugh, live, fall down, stand back up, learn about themselves and the world and hopefully keep spreading generosity, love and kindness along the way.

from the bottom of my heart and the depths of my (dysfunctional) lungs, i urge you to consider becoming an organ donor and encourage everyone you know to do the same. all it takes is a few simple steps to register: http://donatelife.net/register-now/

if you need another reason to make the choice to become an organ donor, take a look at this video.