The day before yesterday, somebody I don’t know died. I don’t know anything about them or their death, but I can guess some stuff.
She (I’m guessing) would have been reasonably young. It’s unlikely that she died of a chronic illness – in fact she was probably healthy. It may have been a sudden thing, perhaps an accident? It’s likely she was in hospital when she died.
She was an organ donor. Not guessing that part.
One of my dearest and oldest friends has received the kidney transplant he’s been waiting eight years for. I don’t just love him, I’ve always really admired him too – he is a magnificent individual. There were tears and whoops of joy all over town as our little impromptu telephone tree spread the news. It felt so good to make those calls.
Of course it’s only the beginning. He’s in a lot of pain, and his mum said there were “a few effs”, benignly ignored by the nurses who couldn’t give him any more pain relief in the middle of the night. But it is a beginning, and it is possible because of that donor’s gift.
It’s estimated that around 100 people die every year in Australia waiting for organ or tissue transplant; our donation rate is amongst the lowest in the developed world. Every donor can save the life of up to ten other people. (source)
You can register to be an organ donor online. Please do.
