Sunday, November 30, 2003

Alonzo Mourning

Within days of the announcement that New Jersey Nets star Alonzo Mourning needed a kidney transplant, dozens of people volunteered to donate a kidney to him.

Live kidney donation is a remarkably generous act. The operation is not without risk, and living with one kidney instead of two also involves some risk. The national organ allocation system rewards live donors by moving them up the waiting list if they ever need an organ later in life. This makes a lot of sense, and it seems like the fair thing to do. It makes sense to do the same thing for people who agree to donate after they die, and it is also the fair thing to do. That's what LifeSharers members do for each other.

The reaction to Mr. Mourning's need for a kidney transplant also demonstrates that people are more willing to donate an organ when they can decide who gets it. LifeSharers is proving that the same thing is true when donation after death is involved. By increasing the number of organ donors, LifeSharers will reduce the number of people who die waiting for organ transplants.

Nobody objects when people offer to donate an organ to a celebrity. Nobody should object when people offer to donate their organs first to fellow organ donors. That's what LifeSharers members do for each other.

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