Organ donation is an end of life decision that saves lives.
Too few people make this part of their estate plan and some who do, fail to communicate that with their families.
| The Decision to Donate Your Organs | |
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Thirty years ago, when my brother was 15 he was killed in an automobile accident. His body survived the crash in perfect condition. He died when his neck snapped his brain stem. He was in perfect health. He was taken to a hospital where my mother served as a volunteer. In her abject grief, she was among friends. Friends who were too kind.
They were so emotionally close to my mother that they were afraid to ask her about donating Brian's organs. And, he was buried with them.
I was living away from home at the time, having graduated from college and starting a life of my own here in North Carolina. Our family was in a daze. It was totally outside our experience that Brian, a mere child, was dead. Forever. And, it was in that fog of grief that my parents met me at the airport as we reunited to lay Brian to rest. I asked my mother offhandedly which of Brian's organs went to others who needed them. I only assumed that, since his body was so intact, that this was done.
I would have done anything not to add to my mother's grief that day. But, I did. Her tormented wail at the thought she had not thought -- and, the one no one dared to ask. I shall never forget that moment as long as I live.
After the funeral as life became as normal as it ever would be for her, my mother took action. Iin her role as a member of the hospital community, she set out to make it a hospital policy to ask the family of an accident victim about organ donatin whether it seemed comfortable or not. Certainly some people in their grief will not react will. But, for everyone who is asked, some certainly will. In fact, had my mother been able to know that Brian would live on in the body of another human being that day, her grief may have been softened somewhat.
Brian was only 15. It would have been unusual for him to have made decisions about organ donation on his own, certainly back in 1973. But, it is likely that as you read this you are not a teenager, but an adult. First, the decision to be an organ doner, but, as importantly, communicating that decision to your family.
An organization that will assist you with the necessary paperwork is The Living Bank. Their website will allow you to complete the forms on line and, once witnessed, will be filed and you will be sent an Organ Donor Card which you should carry with you at all times. For a quick way to accomplish this now, download and print a Donor Registration Form provided by The Living Bank.
Next, have the form witnessed by two people. Family members are best because it will help them be aware of your decision.
Your decision to donate your organs and tissue is only one thing you need to communicate with your family before you are in a situation where you cannot communicate with them directly. The Center for Intergenerational Communication is not only a great resource for knowing what issues families face and about which they must convey to each other, it provides many resources to record the decisions that result from these discussions.
One of the centerpiece products of The CFIC is the expansive Here to Hereafter: Everything My Family Needs to Know. In an exceptionally well-designed (and patented) PanaVu (R) storage binder, there are over 70 pages of questions with spaces for the answers to be filed in the volume's 12 sections. Questions ranging from the preferred music at your funeral, to who should get your cat? Specifically, Section 2: Medical is the tab under which your family will find a place to record information and your decisions as they relate to dozens of topics, including organ donation.
(c) 2005 CFIC