By the time you read this, my brother-in-law, Vance, will be in surgery. Roger's older brother is donating a kidney today to his brother-in-law, Mark (the husband of Roger's and Vance's sister, Becky). (Did you follow all of that?)
Mark & Becky |
Vance |
Mark has been in need of a kidney transplant for almost a year now. When the family heard the news, almost everyone offered themselves for testing and it turned out that Vance was a perfect match.
I admire Mark for his courage in the face of medical challenges.
I admire Vance for his selfless act of generosity.
I admire Roger's family for their endless support of one another.
This is a good opportunity to remind you of some important facts about blood, tissue, and organ donation:
- Organ donation:
- People of all ages and medical histories should consider themselves potential donors. Your medical condition at the time of death will determine what organs and tissue can be donated.
- Organs and tissues that can be donated include: heart, kidneys, lungs, pancreas, liver, intestines, corneas, skin, tendons, bone, and heart valves.
- There is no national registry of organ donors. Even if you have indicated your wishes on your drivers' license or a donor card, be sure you have told your family as they will be consulted before donation can take place.
- All major religions approve of organ and tissue donation and consider donation the greatest gift.
- An open-casket funeral is possible for organ and tissue donors.
- Bone Marrow Donation
- Most bone marrow donations do not involve surgery.
- Bone marrow donation is relatively painless and is usually a "same-day" procedure.
- Becoming a part of the registry takes about 15 minutes. Both Roger and I have done it.
- On average, 1 in every 540 people who register for the bone marrow donation program will be contacted as a match.
- Blood donation
- I have already told you how important it is to donate blood if you are able.
- One pint of blood saves 3 lives. If you donate platelets, you can save even more lives.
- All types of blood are needed. Hospitals use over 43,000 pints of blood in the US and Canada every day.
- If everyone eligible to donate would give at least 3 times a year, blood shortages would be rare.
There are many ways to be courageous and even the small steps are important.
It's all about small steps. Lots of feet taking small steps.
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