The gift of life

I promise not to stand up here on my soapbox for long.

The message is simple: become an organ donor... in fact, donate every single possible thing that can be transplanted upon your death, and you could positively impact AND EVEN SAVE several lives.

I wrote a story on Friday about a local 17-year-old who died from sudden, unexpected heart failure. When she got her license a year ago, she had her parents OK her signing to become an organ donor.

Her death last week was the greatest of tragedies.

But this silver lining is far easier to see than most of the sad stories out there... she saved lives. This young lady gave the greatest gift even after she had taken her last breath. FOUR people's lives will be saved because of her simple decision.

FOUR families are rejoicing tonight.
FOUR people will celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas or Hanukkah this winter.
The news will impact dozens of more people... their mothers or fathers, sisters and brothers, children, spouses, friends, neighbors, co-workers and many more.

That's a lot of good news to come out of something so ugly.

Learn more here.
Or here.
Or check the little box on your drivers license. It's so simple.

By the way, there are more than 104, 800 people on the waiting list for an organ today.
That's a lot of families waiting for some good news.

Have you heard of the new TV show Three Rivers? It's about a transplant hospital in Pittsburgh. It shows each story from three sides -- the transplant team of doctors, the donor and their family and the recipient(s). Scott and I have started watching it (it's on on Sundays) and just two days after writing the story about the local organ donor, they have an episode like this. Mandy Patinkin (from my other favorite show, Criminal Minds) plays a man with ALS (Lou Gehrigs Disease, a nerve disorder) who gets in a car crash that will leave him with very little to no mobility. Not wanting to live that way, he asks about organ donation and wants no more life support. He meets in person families of several people that he can save... a brother raising three younger kids who will get new lungs; a little girl who needs a liver, etc.

Watch especially from 1:00 on. I hope it impacts you as much as it did me.

Now go sign up to save a life after your really long one, OK?! :-)