Heather on her Soapbox, again

I'm an organ donor, why aren't you?

On the way home from work tonight, I tuned in to one of my favorite radio stations The Point. They're doing a radiothon currently for the local children's hospital, and being the terrible person that I am I don't listen too much during this timeframe because my heartstrings get pulled and I'm not giving them any money. The guilt emanating from the radio triples... And it got even worse tonight as I tuned in just in time to hear the tail end of the story of a woman whose young son died a few years ago. I guess the hospital must have been very supportive during the timeframe, but I just heard that he died. It was pretty sad, she sounded young -- he must have been very young, etc. But I cracked when she said that she got to meet the young girl who received his heart this past February.

Can you imagine? Your child has died and despite the incredible amount of pain you're suffering as a result of that you somehow muster the courage to give consent for organ donation and someone else's child is living as a result of your incredible loss. And I think that as awful as your loss must be, that must somehow make up for it.

That's why I'm an organ donor. Not that I think that others will be able to soldier on after I'm gone because my liver (hm, bad example -- my kidney, how bout that?) lives on in another, but knowing that I can give that gift does me a world of good in my heart for all of the things I DIDN'T do while I was around to do them. I'm going to be dead, I am NOT going to be needing what I've got left where I'm going. (Especially where I'm bound to go.) So, why not fork 'em over? Seriously. What reason does any person who believes they have a soul have for NOT being an organ donor?

I'm an organ donor, why aren't you?