Organ transplants

If more people were as generous as Cody Prewitt and his family, we wouldn’t have more than 6,000 Americans dying every year waiting for organ transplants (5/8, Metro, “Cody’s offering: A chance for others”). Most of these deaths are needless. Americans bury or cremate about 20,000 transplantable organs every year.

There is a simple solution to the organ shortage: Give organs first to people who have agreed to donate their own organs when they die.

Giving organs first to organ donors will persuade more people to register as organ donors. It will also make the organ-allocation system fairer. About 60 percent of the organs transplanted in the United States go to people who haven’t agreed to donate their own organs when they die.

LifeSharers is a nonprofit network of organ donors who agree to offer their organs first to other organ donors when they die. They do this through a form of directed donation that is legal in all 50 states and under federal law.

Anyone can join for free at www.lifesharers.org or by calling 1-(888) ORGAN88 (674-2688).

LifeSharers has 4,315 members, including 108 in Missouri and 30 in Kansas. Over 400 of our members are minor children enrolled by their parents.

David J. Undis
Executive director, LifeSharers
Nashville, Tenn.

Comments

[Lost_In_Ambivalence]

David

What a horrible letter. Organ donors shouldn't be allowed to have first preference. This is no different than selling your organs. In fact, you are selling your organs. You are selling them for an option on other organs that become available. I agree that one should be willing to donate when they pass on. However, holding people hostage is not the best way. Perhaps we should give financial incentive by paying people to become organ donors (from public money so that there is no preferential treatment).