The Gift of Life?

I'm just going to put it out there : organ donation. Will you or wont you? It seems like organ donation has been a hot topic in my little sphere the last few days, and it prompted me to thinking.

So will you or wont you ? For the record, I am on the Australian Organ Donor Registry as wanting to be an organ donor in the event of my death - i'll donate everything but my corneas ( which face it, arent all that good to me, so they arent really going to be much use to anyone else). Heart, liver, lungs, kidneys... whatever i have that will help, they can take. I might save one life, or half a dozen; all i know is that i'm not going to need my organs where i'm going ( wherever that may be ) so i'd like for them to help someone else live a good life. So, my mind is pretty much made up on the subject - in regards to myself. What got me to thinking was a Facebook status update from one of my friends, saying that everyone in her family was on the Registry. She confirmed for me, yes - even her kids. Her kids? She'd already made that decision? I wondered if i could do the same.

My son is only 7 and half months old - i dont even want to entertain the idea of having to give his organs away. In truth, i dont think i could i do what my friend has done. I dont think i could make that kind of decision without being in need of HAVING to make it. And, if i'm honest, i dont know that i would be able to give the doctors a "yes" if, and when, they asked.

Its fine for me to be happy to donate my own organs, but somehow its different when considering my baby. I know that theoretically my gorgeous son would be helping to save the life of another beautiful baby, someone elses pride and joy. But i dont know whether that thought would outweigh the idea of my baby being disected, his body being desecrated in someway. That might sound drastic, but i think thats how my mind would work, in that kind of situation. However, i wont know for sure until i have to walk in those shoes. Hopefully, i never will.... unlike my parents. For those of you who are not long time readers of this blog, let me elaborate: i had a younger brother, who died Christmas Eve of 1989. He was almost 2 years old, i was almost 6. He was struck, very suddenly, by menigitis and there was just no time ( and no resources in our country town ) to do anything to save him. My parents said no to donating his organs. I do not judge them in anyway for that decision. I know that my brother could have helped save the lives of a handful of other infants, but my parents could not, in the cold light of day, face the thought of having their little boy " chopped up " ( my fathers words not mine ). So, until i face something similar, i reserve the decision of donating my sons organs ( though not Micks - he has chosen not donate ) for a later date.

I like to think that my friend there on Facebook has made a brave decision, but somewhere in the back of my mind i cant help but think, in regards to her children, it may be a little rash. So how about you? Do you intend on donating your organs, and have you made those intentions clear to your loved ones?

Give A Little Bit

So this is where i publicly state my intention to donate my organs after my death. Yes, Mum, Dad and anybody else who may care at that particular moment, I want to donate my organs to those who need them after my death. What has prompted this public declaration ? I have just finished watching a " 60 Minutes " article about a young Australian named Doujon Zammit.

Doujon had been having the time of his very young life in Mykonos, Greece, earlier this year when after having left one of the tourist pubs, he and his friend were set upon by four nightclub bouncers. Doujon was savagely beaten, including been hit with a metal pipe, until the point of unconscious. He was taken to hospital but, unfortunately, he was a few days later declared brain dead. His father, who had flown to Greece to be by his bedside, made the agonising decision to turn off his life support and, in accordance with his sons wishes, to donate his organs.

I cannot imagine how devastating a decision that must have been, which is why i'm taking this opportunity to make my wishes known, and to spare my parents the burden of that choice. It is, very saddeningly, a choice they have had to make before. For those of you who are new readers of this blog, I had a brother die from meningitis at the age of 1 ( i was almost 5 at the time ). They said it was just too hard to think of having their little boy cut up, of having him divided, even though they knew they could have saved others by doing so. I guess the suddenness of his illness and death ( he fell ill and died within a 24 hour period ), and the fact that you pretty much have to make the decision on the spot, was just too much to bare. I would also imagine that having lost such a young child would make the decision harder aswell. As I said, i would never want them to ever have to make that choice again.

So, as you can probably tell, organ donation happens to be important to me. I'm telling you all now of my intentions, and I am officially registered on the Australian Organ Donation Registery ( and, although not legally binding, on my drivers licence ). I am registered to donate everything - that would be lungs, kidney, heart, liver, skin - except my corneas. This is mainly because my corneas are absolutely crap and are of no use to me right now, let alone anybody else, but also because I might wana be using them in any afterlife there might be. Call me crazy, I just cant bare the idea of anybody messing around with my eyes after i'm gone.

So there we go, intentions stated and semi-rant over. I'll use this last little paragraph to urge all of you to think seriously about organ donation and if its something you agree with, let your loved ones know what you want done. You never know how soon they could be called upon to make the harrowing decision without your help....