Sometime last month I caught the tail end of an amazing piece on ESPN. I didn't really catch the back-story, something about a college aged kid dying, donating his organs, helping others, etc, etc, but it prompted me to try and find out a bit more. After a bit of searching around (yahoo, not google) I was able to find the video of the entire story.
I'll provide you the link to the story at the end of this post, but in summary it deals with a college senior, Jason Ray, who was the mascot for the basketball team at UNC. He traveled to NJ with the team for the NCAA tournament this past March and was hit by a car as he walked from his hotel to get something to eat. His parents rushed to be with him, but he passed away 3 days later.
The part of the story that will blow you away is that by his death he helped save or improve the lives of about 50 other people. He did it simply by donating his organs and tissue. One guy got a kidney, another his heart, and some even his eyes! Each and every story in the piece is just amazing. Timing had to be right and the person had to be on the top of the respective transplant list. The best part of being a donor, I think, is that the person doing the donating actually gets to live on through each of the recipients.
The reason I chose to write about this today is two fold. First, my boss is actually out today to have his knee worked on and will be getting a ligament from another person, a dead person. (he's hoping its from a 6'-8" black man who can dunk) The second reason is that so many people say they would be an organ donor but don't actually do anything about it. After seeing this story I logged onto the web, found a site for the New England Organ Bank, and figured out what I needed to do. I then made a quick phone call and since my license doesn't need to be renewed for a few more years the lady said I can fill out a card to carry in my wallet. Simple as that! (next time I renew my license I can get one of those cool "Organ Donor" designations on it!). Honestly, how hard was that? And to think I'd never done it before. Now, if for some reason I (or Kelly, she signed up too) kick the bucket at an early age at least some people will benefit.
I know some people think of this stuff and nasty and disgusting, but what good is a heart or lung or liver going to do you under six feet of soil? Not much. Why not salvage all the goods and then get burried.
Do yourself a favor and follow this link to watch this moving story. (takes a while to load and is about 14 minutes long). The part where you get to meet the people who received Jason's organs is extremely powerful. They couldn't be more grateful.
They also say that if you do plan on being a donor you should communicate those wishes to loved ones and people around you so that they know what to do if the time comes. Guess I just did that!
