Dear Editor:
Donald Kelly’s story about Christopher Muniz highlighted the tragic shortage of human organs for transplant operations. That shortage kills over 6,000 Americans every year and gets larger every day. The solution is simple and obvious — if you sign a donor card then you go to the front of the waiting list if you need an organ.
While the federal government isn’t ready to make this common sense change the law of the land, a grass roots group called LifeSharers is making it a reality one member at a time. LifeSharers is a non-profit network of organ donors. Members agree to donate their organs when they die, but they give fellow members “first dibs” on their organs. This creates a pool of organs available first to members. The existence of this pool gives other people an incentive to sign donor cards and join the network, and this incentive grows stronger as the network expands.
Membership in LifeSharers is free and open to all at http://www.lifesharers.com. LifeSharers has been in operation for 12 months and has attracted 776 members in 43 states and the District of Columbia.
David J. Undis
Executive Director
LifeSharers
Nashville, TN