BE AN ORGAN/TISSUE DONOR: https://www.DonateLifeCalifornia.Org
U.S. Transplantation Data
Listed below is summary transplantation data for the entire United States, including the number of candidates currently on the waiting list, by organ type. -- From UNOS.Org
Waiting list candidates as of today (April 19, 2006) 1:22pm
ALL 91,983
Kidney
-- This is the list I'M
on!!!
66,397
Pancreas 1,747
Kidney/Pancreas 2,502
Liver 17,187
Intestine 203
Heart 3,003
Lung 3,061
Heart/Lung 145
All candidates will be less than the sum due
to candidates waiting for multiple organs
DEAR FRIENDS,
As many of you know, I am a dialysis patient and a former kidney transplant recipient. I am currently waiting again for another kidney transplant.
One of the most valuable services that our country offers is the opportunity to give away our organs once we are deceased. 1/3 of us who are on the TRANSPLANT WAITING LIST will die before transplanting because organ donation is relatively small compared to the actual number of medically suitable donors who could donate, but don't. If EVERYONE became a donor, then the wait for an organ would shrink considerably and the life expectancy of those on the waiting list would increase dramatically. The average wait for a kidney transplant from a *Cadaver Donor, depending on which list a person is placed on, is usually around 3- 5 years. The list I am on is so large that the wait is estimated to be about 5 years.
For kidney recipients and liver recipients there is another alternative then waiting for years for a Cadaver Donation. Since each person has 2 kidneys, and only needs 1 to survive and live a normal life, you can be living when you donate a kidney in what is called a **Living Related Donor, or a ***Living Donor, and give 1 of your kidneys to a relative or a friend who is in need of a kidney transplant. (That would be me. :) )
For liver recipients, a Living Related Donor or a Living Donor can also give a portion of their own liver to be transplanted into an awaiting recipient. (Since the human liver can regenerate itself, both the donor and the recipient can "regrow" their respective livers after donating and/or transplantation has occurred.)
If you would like to be a Tissue and Organ donor upon your death, please visit the site: https://www.DonateLifeCalifornia.Org and click on the ""Sign Me Up Today" link in the top left hand corner. Other Facts about organ donation are right below it on the link entitled "Get The Facts".
The following below is a letter I sent to my Donor Mother, Leatha. She will be speaking at her Women's group in May about Donor Awareness. She asked me to be a presenter, but I was not able to make the trip due to health constraints. (They are located in Arizona) So, instead, she will read the letter below as part of her presentation for Donor Awareness.
Leatha and I met each other about a year after her daughter, Michelle, passed away, and I received Michelle's kidney. We have been friends ever since. There are no words to describe the bond, or relationship that we have. I only hope the letter will able to speak for itself.
Thank you,
D.O.
* Cadaver Donor is a person who dies and their organs are donated upon their death. Consent must be confirmed by a family member, that's why its so important to let your wishes be known prior to your death that you want to be a Tissue and Organ Donor when you die. TELL YOUR FAMILY!!!
**Living Related Donor is a person who is living and related to the recipient. The tissue match is usually better when a person donates to someone they are related to. (i.e. sibling, parent, cousin, etc...)
***Living Donor is a person who is living but not related to by blood, the person they donate to. (i.e. friend, spouse, etc..)
For Leatha and Friends
Thank you all for coming here today. Even though I am unable to be there with you in person its important to me that you all know a little more about Leatha, her family, her daughter, Michelle, and how our lives became inextricably intertwined with each other.
It was nearly 15 years ago, when I was in my early 20’s when I was first diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder called IGA Nephropathy. IGA Nephropathy is a disorder that causes my immune system to systematically attack my kidneys. By the time I was 28 years old I was in complete kidney failure, and placed on dialysis. For 2 years, I dialyzed hoping that a kidney transplant would be in my near future. Those 2 years were extremely painful.
As my health deteriorated, I suffered from severe headaches, extreme fatigue, and severe weight loss. The quality of my life continued to diminish as the months went on.
Its difficult to describe to others what its like to live as a chronically ill person. To feel the loss of control over one’s own body, to look in the mirror and see a skeletal shadow of your former self, to see the world move forward while your own life stands still, to always be in pain. Its difficult to slowly slip away from friends, and loved ones and world you once knew.
For many of us on dialysis, this is what our life is like as we wait for the miracle that will set us free.
But on February 3, 1998 I received such a miracle. In the early afternoon the transplant coordinator called me and let me know that a kidney that matched my blood and tissue type, was found. Though the transplant surgery was arduous, I made a full recovery, and was able to continue on with my life, in new health, and great hope for a good life.
However, even with all this new joy in my life, I still felt unsettled. I knew in my heart, I needed to know and personally THANK the family who saved my life.
About a year later, I was able to exchange correspondences with my donor family, and eventually through letter writing and phone calls we agreed to meet.
I learned that my donor was a 21 year old woman named Michelle Lynn Richter, who was very special. She lived with many challenging disabilities, and was surrounded by people who loved and cared for her.
Her tragic death was unexpected when she accidentally choked to death on her way to her work. Though the bus driver tried to resuscitate her, she fell unconscious and quietly slipped into a coma. She laid in a coma in a nearby hospitable for several days, until her family consented to taking her off life support.
What you need to know about Leatha, Maurice, and their other daughter, Brianne, is that in their most darkest hour, in their most painful moment, their strongest desire was to give hope and life to others in their most kindest of acts. When the transplant team asked if they would like to donate Michelle’s organs, they agreed.
The next day Michelle’s kidney came to me, and my life was saved.
The woman you see, standing before you, her family, and her daughter, Michelle, are directly responsible for saving the lives of 3 complete strangers. Myself, Bruce who received Michelle’s other kidney, and another gentleman who received Michelle’s liver.
There are no words that will ever be suffice in expressing our gratitude for what they did for us. I can only tell you that for those of us in the world who live with illness and pain, we pray for miracles like these, to ease us of our suffering, save our lives, and plant seeds of hope for those who are still sick.
Please continue to care for Leatha, and continue to spread the word about Donor Awareness. One day, it may be your life that is saved, or the life of a loved one, that you cannot bear to lose.
Everyday, reminisces of her daughter, Michelle, continue to manifest themselves in our daily lives. There are always small reminders of her as we continue throughout our day. Though this amazing act of generosity, Michelle was able to touch the lives of so many people, and heal us of our suffering.
I have learned that we as mortals cannot pick and chose who stays and who leaves, for that is up to God. But what I do know is that we can help one another, heal one another, give and share with each other to make our time here on earth more livable and fulfilling. We can move each other in such a way, that we feel the touch of God through the caring of others. We can give hope to the hopeless, and power to the powerless. We can even heal the sick.
Please follow the example that the Leatha and her family have set. Please be willing to see the love and humanity that grows out of each organ donation, and that each life that is saved, will sow more seeds of hope for others who still suffer.
Thank you for coming here today, and May God Bless you and keep you.
Thank you,
D.O.