Should organ donors get preferential treatment if they need a transplant?

I hope the title of this post makes sense to you.  I just read an article in USA Today that caught my attention after going to see the movie “Seven Pounds” this past weekend.  As odd as the movie played out, I don’t recall seeing a movie before this one that portrayed the notion of organ donation as the ultimate gift to life, a romance, the ROI (return on investment) if you will.

No, I’m not an organ donor for silly non-scientific reasons that have something to do with my inability to grasp the concept of death.  My husband will occasionally harass me about it as well, but it’s something that I won’t do until I can find peace with such a decision.  I’m sure if I were faced with a very personal story, my mind would change in an instant, so don’t chalk me up to being stingy with my parts.  😉

from USA Today…

Last fall, for the first time in its history, the national organ transplant waiting list topped 100,000 people, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the non-profit assigned by the federal government to maintain the list. The list is up to 100,457, and three out of every four are waiting for a kidney…

…For some patients, a kidney can take six months to find, but that’s only for those with Type A blood. It can take two or three years or more to find a match for O and B types, Hawxby says.

UNOS says 45% of patients on the list have been waiting two or more years for a kidney, heart, liver or some other organ…

Those are some startling statistics.  Enough to make you want to do all you can to preserve your own health.

What about the notion of changing the criteria from the most sick holding priority to those that are organ donors being a priority? This was proposed, as described in the article, by David Undis who is the president of LifeSharers.  LifeSharers is a nonprofit organ donation network, facebook for your organs, pretty much.  David is building a network of donors who will be able to select from their network if they find themselves in need of a donor.  It hasn’t been put to the test yet, but he believes he’s taking a step in the right direction.

It’s definitely something to mull over on your drive to work or as you zone out at your next office meeting.

To read the full article PROPOSAL:  SIGN A DONOR CARD, MOVE UP ON THE TRANSPLANT LIST by clicking HERE.

After you mull it over, stop by and leave me a comment to let me know what you’re thinking.

If nothing else, let me know if you saw “Seven Pounds” and what you thought of it.