Have you updated your organ donor registration? If you have not since January 1, 2006, it may be out-of-date.
Go to www.DonateLifeIllinois.org for a quick, 30-second re-registration. Thanks to Scott, who posted this valuable update requirement on the Advance Directive article.
The first thing I did was check the dog-eared, worn-out organ donation card I've carried around in my wallet for - how long? What? 1990? And then I checked the back of my driver's license, and right there was my signature and a 2005 date.
I had to search around on the website to find the line indicating that the Illinois Secretary of State is one of the participating sponsors of the site, but it's there.
OK, now you don't have to hurry to be an organ donor, but you should hurry to that website and register to be one! This thought reminded me of a license plate I saw a while back on a motorcycle in Hoffman Estates: ORG DNR. In some circles that's supposed to be a joke about motorcycle riders. Not this one, though.
So if you really want to be an organ donor (when the time comes), get right on over to that website and register. It's quick and easy. Just have your driver's license number handy.
You never know who is interested…
3 months ago
4 comments:
Huge thanks for spreading the word Gus! Yup, Jesse White is one of our coalition partners and a huge advocate for us. Thanks again for helping save lives.
You're quite welcome, Scott. I appreciated your comment about the requirement to re-register.
Over half of the 98,000 Americans on the national transplant waiting list will die before they get a transplant. Most of these deaths are needless. Americans bury or cremate about 20,000 transplantable organs every year. Over 6,000 of our neighbors suffer and die needlessly every year as a result.
There is a simple way to put a big dent in 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 convince more people to register as organ donors. It will also make the organ allocation system fairer. People who aren't willing to share the gift of life should go to the back of the waiting list as long as there is a shortage of organs.
Anyone who wants to donate their organs to others who have agreed to donate theirs can join LifeSharers. LifeSharers is a non-profit network of organ donors who agree to offer their organs first to other organ donors when they die. Membership is free at www.lifesharers.org or by calling 1-888-ORGAN88. There is no age limit, parents can enroll their minor children, and no one is excluded due to any pre-existing medical condition.
dave, thanks for posting this informative comment.
While I was reading it, I wondered what effect a prospective recipient's general health has, when evaluating him as a candidate to receive a donated organ. If a recipient's general state of health is poor and he might live, even with the new organ, only a short time, should that organ be made available to him?
Does realistic life expectancy determine a person's ranking in a registry? Or is it - one first come, first served?
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