Donate Life. Pave the Way and Plan Now

One of the greatest things that we can do with our lives is to ensure that at the end of our allotted time, that our life can live on in other peoples lives as more than just a fond memory.

Now, while this may be quite a noble proposition, to make it happen requires the involvement of several parties, the chief of which will be your immediate family members.

I can only speak of the situation that relates to us here in Australia and I would certainly encourage you to make enquiries as to the rules as they relate to where you reside, wherever that may be.

Anyway, back to the matter of looking ahead. In Australia you can indicate your wishes to be an organ and tissue donor by either lodging your registration with the Australian Organ Donor Register or by indicating your desire at the time you renew your driver's licence.

Almost anyone can donate, and while it is true that your age and medical history will be taken into account, one should not assume that they are either to young, too old or even not healthy enough (although death is a bit of a killer in the matter of your ongoing health) for you to offer yourself to others in this manner.

Even if you think that you may not be healthy enough, there is every chance that some of your organs and tissues will be suitable for donation. There are some conditions however that will preclude your desire to assist another person and one of these would be if you were suffering from a transmissible disease such as HIV.

Having said that, even though you may pass the health test with flying colours and you may be in the peak of condition for your age and circumstances, at the time of your demise it just will not happen unless you have the consent of your family.

So how do you get the family members to be supportive of your decision to allow part of your body to live on in the life of another human?

Reality dictates that family members are most likely to agree to your wishes if the matter has previously been raised and discussed with them. Should the matter come out of the thin air, so to speak, they will more likely decline your request, thereby having a minimum of two people disappointed with that decision. Those people being yourself and the other one being the potential recipient of your donated tissue and organs.

So, first things first. Read all you can about organ and tissue donating. Register your wishes on the Organ Donor Register and finally and this cannot be stressed enough, make sure that you inform your immediate family members of the action you have taken, and seek their acknowledgement that they support your wishes.

To ensure that your relatives over the course of time do not forget your wishes, there is another action that you can take, and that is to place a copy of your organ donor registration in a place that is easy to locate. Keeping a copy with your will papers would be one way of achieving this. Another way, is to use the facility of a website such as www.wherethereisawill.com.au to record your wishes.

Either way, on your passing speed is the essence when it comes to your relatives making a decision to comply with your wishes as there is only a limited timeframe available before the window of opportunity to use your bodily parts deteriorates, thereby lessening your offer of assisting another persons life eventuating.

Well, there it is. To be able to donate life to another person is a wonderful gift, but without you taking action now, that gift may end up never being delivered.

To see what you need to do to be a donor, have a look at the site www.donatelife.gov.au where there is a link to the Australian Organ Donor Register.

As the site Donate Life encourages - Remember the three D's, Discover, Decide & Discuss.