Organ Transplant Information

Well, it's really time to update this very important page, now that people are actually finding my little piece of paradise. I used to say I felt a little bit sheepish, or should I say selfish--although I probably shouldn't have--posting this information, because I needed a transplant. But that unmatchable act of selfishness from another and his (or her) family has happened, and this is now being revised after the fact.

To me then and now, I can think of no better way to achieve the closest thing to immortality in this world than by offering up to thirty little pieces of my will-be-at-the-time useless body that will then go on to not only save some lives, but even flourish in human beings with thoughts, feelings, and possibly great achievements ahead of them that could possibly benefit all of us. In my case, the medications I've been taking make the viability of my organs less desirable for donation (I think the corneas are still OK), but the principle remains the same. Do you know that if the families of all organ donors chose NOT to reverse the will of their relatives at the time of their death, the donor organ shortage in this country would be eliminated? The supreme irony--you bite the bullet and say, OK, take my precious organs for the good of man, and so that parts of me may live on, and then your relatives change what is the last decision you'll ever make on this Earth and deny you that satisfaction. This happens over 90% of the time! And 8 or 9 people a day die waiting for a donor organ of one type or another because of it--it's madness! The message here is--tell your relatives of your wishes. Make sure they understand your decision. It's that simple.

So where do you go to learn more about all of this stuff? There is the newsgroup bit.listserv.transplant. Another resource is the listserver for transplants up on BITNET. To join, Email listserv@wuvmd.wustl.edu with the words "SUB USER NAME" in the body of the message. For example, I sent "SUB Roger Stevens" (don't use quotes, ok?). Even if you aren't tissue and organ donation-minded, a few minutes reading the output of the list will likely make you more inclined to be so.

Also, for my part, being a lung transplant type of individual, I particularly like the Second Wind digests--link to their site (URL shown below), and sign up, then request digest service, and you'll be off and running. While sometimes you have to pick through it all to get the information you need, just the help provided by Karen Couture, who is a genuine pearl and source of truly useful information makes it worth it.

Otherwise, the best I can do for you at this time, is to share my somewhat limited transplant-related bookmarks with you:

• www.NewLungs.com--A Complete Guide to Lung Transplantation
• www.NewLungs.com--Link List of Lung Transplant Facilities
• Second Wind Lung Transplant Association, Inc.
• Delaware Valley Transplant Program
• National Lung Transplant Patient's Association
• Division of Thoracic Surgery: Lung Transplant
• A2ZBIZ Heart/Lung Transplant Info
• Transplantation Resources on the Internet
• Related FAQs: bit.listserv.transplant
• Organ Transplant Services
• UNOS Transplantation Information Site

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