By Matthew Cooper, M.D.
Director of Kidney Transplantation
Recent world events are a powerful reminder of life’s uncertainty. Even if everything seems fine today, none of us really knows what dramatic changes or tragic circumstances we might face tomorrow. The more than 110,000 Americans waiting for lifesaving organ transplants feel the pain of an uncertain future each and every day.
April is National Donate Life Month, an excellent opportunity to learn more about organ and tissue donation. There are many great resources to answer some of the questions you or a family member may have about living donation as well. The University of Maryland Medical Center Web site has a whole section on living kidney donation, including answers to frequently asked questions. Data is available on the United Network of Organ Sharing’s Web site about the numbers of patients waiting, the time with which they wait for that call, and efforts at a national level to improve the quality and outcomes for organ transplantation.
Organizations such as the National Kidney Foundation have initiatives like “End the Wait!” and provide readers with basic yet substantial things that can be done on a personal level to help make a difference to someone in need. Importantly, register as an organ donor on the National Kidney Foundation Web site or sign up for your state’s donor registry in conjunction with the Department of Motor Vehicles. Share your wishes with your family and talk about your decision to inspire others.
As a transplant surgeon I have the privilege of seeing day by day the life-changing (literally giving life to another human being) opportunities via organ donation. A recent example was the inspiring case of 26-year-old Drew Sollenberger, who came to us wanting to donate a kidney to the person of greatest need. This person turned out to be a 2-year-old boy with life threatening kidney disease, who now has a second chance at life.
I regularly share with anyone who will listen that I know I have the best job in the world. We have an incredible team made of truly wonderful individuals invested in transplantation here at the University of Maryland. A group of hundreds is necessary to make certain we protect this valuable resource in an organ for transplantation. But we cannot do this job we love without you. It only takes one … one decision to last for another’s lifetime.
Life is like a relay race. When my run is complete, I hope to pass the baton to someone who is waiting to receive the gift of life to advance on their own journey. I cannot be sure that they will win or even finish the race, but without someone to pass the baton, I know that they will continue to wait or may even die prematurely.
While you can’t control the future, you can choose to pass on the Gift of Life to make a lifetime of tomorrows possible by registering as an organ and tissue donor and considering living donation.
April is Donate Life Month!
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