LifeSharers on CNN

CNN aired a story about LifeSharers on September 17, 2006. Click on the video to watch it:



Bryan Stewart of OneLegacy, the organ procurement organization in southern California, said a couple of interesting things in the story.

First, Mr. Stewart said "any time you work outside of the established allocation process, you're not necessarily giving the organs to people that are most in need." This statement is true, but it is misleading. It implies that the established allocation process gives organs to people that are most in need. But that process often bypasses the person most in need. That process takes several factors into account when allocating organs, and need is only one of them.

Next, Mr. Stewart said "the likelihood that someone in LifeSharers is going to benefit from a donor that is part of LifeSharers is extremely low." Is this statement true? It depends on what you mean by "extremely low." At our current membership level, there is about a 25% chance that one or more LifeSharers members will die and become an organ donor within the next 12 months. Will any of the organs donated be a suitable match for any LifeSharers member who needs a transplant? That's impossible to know, but there are currently over 30 LifeSharers members on the national transplant waiting list so it seems likely that at least one suitable match will be found.

Whatever the odds are, it's important to keep in mind that the odds keep growing as the number of LifeSharers members increases. Statistically speaking, it's a virtual certainty that sooner or later a LifeSharers member will recieve an organ donated by another LifeSharers member. It's just a matter of time. When it happens, we expect lots of publicity and a huge number of new members.

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