If more people were as generous as Jimmy Hatton and his family, we wouldn’t have more than 6,000 Americans dying every year waiting for organ transplants. (“Teen who always gave of self gives gift of life,” Page 1, Sept. 3).
Most of those deaths are needless. Americans donate only half of the organs that could save lives and reduce suffering. They bury or cremate the rest.
The solution to the organ shortage is simple–if you don’t agree to donate your organs when you die, then you go to the back of the waiting list if you ever need an organ to live.
A grass-roots group of organ donors called LifeSharers is making this idea a reality one member at a time.
LifeSharers is a non-profit network of organ donors. Members agree to donate their organs when they die, and they give fellow members “first dibs” on their organs. This creates a pool of organs available first to members.
LifeSharers also makes the organ allocation system fairer. About 70 percent of the organs transplanted in the United States go to people who haven’t agreed to donate their own organs when they die.
Anyone curious can go to www.lifesharers.com. Membership is free.
LifeSharers has 2,527 members, including 248 in Illinois.
