I’m 1 of 116,600
There are 116,600 people (as of October 12, 2017) in the United States in need of life-saving organ transplants. I am one of them. Of that number, 75,521 are waiting on a liver. My odds looks a lot better when compared to everyone in my transplant region (#3 for those interested) who need a liver. At that point, I become 1 of 1,265.
That number sounds great! Until I envision 1,265 people standing in line in front of me. All of us waiting on the 1 liver being donated by a grieving family that only 1 of us can have. And it’s not like, one down, 1,264 to go. Every 10 minutes, someone new is added to the list and sadly, every day approximately 20 people on the list die. In 2016 alone, more than 7,000 candidates died waiting.
So far this year (through 10/2017), 26,034 transplants have been performed from organs donated by 12,211 donors. Most people aren’t aware that a single donor can save up to 8 lives! For some diseases (kidney & liver) a living person can donate. And an added bonus for live liver donors: your liver will grow back to full size in 90 days.
We’re a nation of people willing to give to just about any cause. We go to great lengths to sort, recycle and compost our trash. We try to buy foods that are farmed and fished in a responsible, sustainable manner. We will give to the Red Cross for disaster relief, the Salvation Army during the holidays and Goodwill year round. We go on mission trips to help others in foreign countries. Our country is full of giving people. So why won’t we do this one last thing as our legacy for another person?
Why is there a severe shortage of available organs for transplant? Why aren’t more people signing up for this? It is my hope that this blog raises awareness of the critical need. It’s easy to dismiss something that isn’t happening to you, but I leave you with this thought: I was in the physical prime of my life when my disease hit. I was young and healthy, until I wasn’t. It happened to me, but it could have happened just as easily to my mother, my stepfather, my sister, my husband, or one of my friends.
Please consider becoming a donor and offering this selfless gift to another person.
Sign up to be an organ donor in Georgia
Sign up to be an organ donor in Florida
All Hail the Queen – Brenda