Let’s Look at the Issues
At least once every two years we use this column to help increase awareness about the severe need for organ donation. The stories about the results of organ donation are about as important as anything you will hear.
As an example, some of you may recall the story of Valery Charnavaus, an immigrant from Belarus (a European country that was part of the Soviet Union) who was beaten and murdered in a bias attack in New York City. His wife, who was summoned to New York from Belarus, and other family members decided to donate his organs so that others may live. Imagine. A man was inhumanely murdered in our city simply because of his ethnicity and his family humanely donated his organs.
In 2006 Hotel Voice told the story about a member of our Union who had suffered a rare eye disease that resulted in blindness. We reported that he had undergone a cornea transplant operation and had his sight restored. I think all of us would agree that the new corneas he received were a wonderful gift. They were the gift of sight.
In 2008 we reported the tragic story about a local area teenager who was killed in an auto accident. When he died, his parents didn’t think for more than a second. They immediately decided to donate his organs. In 2009 we told you about a Hotel Trades Council member who underwent a successful liver transplant. And many of you may recall that some years before that there was the story about a youngster, Nicholas Green, who was with his family on vacation in Italy. While the Green family was driving in their rented car there was a robbery attempt. Bandits shot at the car to force it to stop. One of the bullets hit Nicholas and he was killed. His parents, as distraught as they were, immediately agreed to donate his organs. The entire Italian nation was so impressed by this generous and humane gesture that organ donations in that country rose by 25 percent after that.
The reason why we are mentioning these stories is because we once again would like to draw your attention to the need for organ donations. At this time, the waiting list for organ transplants in the United States is well past the 100,000 mark. This means that well over 100,000 people in the U.S. are depending on an organ donation to be able to live.
Twenty years ago, only 20,000 people were on the list waiting for organ transplants. But that list has grown by at least 10 percent each year since then. It grew by 20,000 names in just the last year. And now, at the present time, 2,000 new names are added each month to the list of people waiting for organ transplants.
At the same time, unfortunately, at least 18 people die each day while they are waiting for a particular organ to become available.
In knowing this kind of information, we hope many of you will consider organ donation. It can restore someone’s eyesight. It can help a burn victim recover. It can help a child survive leukemia. It can give an adult on a dialysis machine a normal life. It can save a child’s father from dying of coronary heart disease. In short, it can make as big a difference as possible for both the people who receive the transplants and their loved ones.
There is something else you should know. Medical science is now able to transplant corneas, kidneys, hearts, heart/lungs, livers, pancreas, heart valves, bone, bone marrow and skin. It means that a person who dies who has agreed to donate his or her organs can restore the sight in at least one person, while saving the lives of several others.
And there are some other facts you should know. Donating your organs costs nothing. It also costs your family nothing. But, as we said, the donation itself can be priceless.
Also, donating organs will in no way affect the funeral of donors. Some may have religious questions about organ donations, but the fact is that most religions globally support this practice.
The sole source of organ donations is ourselves. Although some organs such as kidneys can also be donated by the living, who will remain healthy afterwards, most organs and tissues are obviously donated by individuals at the time of death.
There are three ways to donate organs. One way is to sign the organ donation pledge on the back of your driver’s license or Department of Motor Vehicles identification card. Another method is to visit organdonor.gov on the Internet where you can register as an organ donor (and learn more about organ donation).
Another important way to donate your organs is to let your immediate family members know that you wish to do so. Even if you have signed your driver’s license pledging your organs, your family’s permission may be required.
In 2008 the New York Post featured a story about a Palestinian child who beat death by a few days by receiving a liver transplant. The liver was donated by the family of an Israeli youth who had died suddenly. Stories like these and the report of the kindness of the families of Valery Charnavaus and Nicholas Green should inspire all of us. Sign the organ donation pledge on the back of your driver’s license, visit orgadonor.gov and/or let your family members know that you wish to donate your organs. You may save a life. In fact, you may save several lives.
