The death of a loved one brings with it all sorts of emotional trauma, not to mention things like suddenly being the only breadwinner and trying to cancel or change credit card and bank information, but there is also something that is often overlooked... tissue donation.
When I was growing up I'd heard about things like heart transplants (or liver, or lung, or whatever), but had never given a thought as to where those organs come from. Of course, they come from recently deceased people. They'd have to be recently deceased... a living organ won't last long outside a body, even with support.
When my husband passed on, I was suddenly faced with a critical decision: whether or not to allow the donation of his tissue. While I was still in shock from his passing, not to mention the grief I was feeling, I also thought about the dozens of lives he could help improve by allowing his tissue to be donated.
Have you ever given blood? If so, you know those screening questions they ask you about your medications and any possible risky behavior? Well if you are authorizing a tissue donation, you get to answer those same questions and many more. THAT was one of the hardest sets of questions I ever had to answer, in part because the tissue donation people have to ask you the questions as soon as possible after the person passes away. For myself, I have to thank the people at Yes, Utah! for their kindness when asking me these tough questions as well as their support afterwards.
There are so many people in need of a new heart, or a liver transplant, or what have you that may die before they receive a compatible match. This is why I think that being an organ donor is so important... but we don't have to die before donating certain body parts and fluids.
Since we have two of them, kidneys are one organ that we can donate while we are still alive. I personally know of one person that has done so, and it made the recipient's life much better for a long while. The other thing we can donate while we are alive is blood and/or plasma.
I know you've probably seen the Red Cross and ARUP mobile vans around town. These labs provide a needed service by providing blood all across the country for use in emergency services and in hospitals. Could you imagine a massive accident without the blood collected by these vans? It would make the disaster much worse.
It is true that some medical conditions make it impossible for people to donate blood (which is why we have those pesky questions), but for those of us that can... we should, especially those of us who are in need the most. Since my blood type is really needed by these wonderful "vampires", I try to donate at least two or three times a year. I don't care for needles, but this is one reason that I'll tolerate it.
If you are healthy enough to donate blood and you still have some concerns, think about this:
- Blood is only donated one pint at a time and is replenished.
- You are not allowed to donate blood again until at least six weeks after the donation is complete.
- The medical people in charge of blood donation vans/locations help you to feel comfortable with your donation.
- Blood is very much needed, and is a donation that can be made several times a year.
- You may be the next person in need of a pint of blood yourself.
