Organ Donation

There was an article in the paper in Don’s hometown recently about a former roommate/landlord of Don’s who volunteered to be a living donor of one of his kidneys to an anonymous recipient. I see this as one of the most selfless acts I can imagine. Not only did he endure surgery that he didn’t need; he gave up a part of his body that he may someday need, and did it for someone he didn’t even know. I doubt this is something I could ever do, though perhaps if someone I knew and loved needed an organ that I could spare, I would consider it.

At one time in my life I struggled with the issue of organ donation, of whether I should agree to be a donor if I died an untimely death. It just seems like an odd thing to me which is not addressed specifically in the Bible. I prayed about it, and the question came to my mind of whether I would accept an organ transplant if I needed one to live. I believe I would. My next thought was the verse, "Do to others as you would have them do to you" (Luke 6:31). That was the answer I needed.

While I still don’t believe I could be as selfless as this man was, I have signed my organ donation card and plan to donate my organs when I die, if needed.