Organ Donation - Being a hero and saving lives

It has been said that one of the greatest thing that we can do with our life is to surrender it for another person.

Time and time again we have the newspapers, TV and now even YouTube describing one heroic account after another of people loosing their lives while attempting so save another person, often even total strangers, from situations of impending and often imminent disastrous consequences .

These people are called heroes, for they saw a need and took action regardless of any personal consequences to themselves.

Well, we too can be heroes in the eyes of others and all it takes is for us to be prepared to become an organ and transplant donor.

Why donate? Because you may save up to 8 lives through organ donation and enhance many others through tissue donation.

Each day there are people dying through lack of a suitable organ being available for them to receive, whilst others continue to live in a restricted capacity of enjoyment because they too have been unable to receive a replacement organ that would offer new life to their situation.

In the United Kingdom, when asked, 'Would you take an organ if you needed one'? There was nearly a 100% positive response. But in reality currently only 29% have joined their national Organ Donor Register. Sadly at present more than 10,000 people in the UK need a transplant. Of these, 1000 each year – that's three a day - will die waiting as there are not enough organs available.

Last year in the Unites States alone, organ donors made more than 28,000 transplants possible. Another one million people received cornea and other tissue transplants that helped them recover from trauma, bone damage, spinal injuries, burns, hearing impairment and vision loss.

So, how do you become an organ donor, well here in Australia we call it the three D's, Discover, Decide and then Discuss.

You can find out everything you need to do through the Donate Life website www.donatelife.gov.au where you will be guided step by step as to the paperwork etc once you have decided that you would like to contribute.

After that, if you have not already done so, you then need to discuss your decision with your immediate family as when all is said and done, they will have the final say.

The sad reality is that currently thousands die every year waiting for a donor organ that never came. Today, you have the power to change that and become a hero to many for doing so.

If you would like to check out some more sites in relation to this issue, then as a starter I recommend that you go to the Useful Links section of our site www,wherethereisawill.com.au and look under Organ and Tissue Donations.