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Monday, August 26, 2002 Press Release SOURCE: LifeSharers Professor Richard Epstein Named Advisor to LifeSharersUniversity of Chicago Law Professor to Assist Innovative Organ Donors Network NASHVILLE, Tenn. – August 26, 2002 – Richard A. Epstein, professor at the University of Chicago Law School, has agreed to serve as an advisor to LifeSharers. LifeSharers is a non-profit voluntary network of organ and tissue donors launched this year to help alleviate the shortage of human organs and tissue needed for transplant operations. That shortage kills over 6,000 Americans every year. “The current legal framework is all too restrictive on the voluntary exchange of organs,” says Professor Epstein, who is also a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. “LifeSharers is an ingenious effort to harness the collective efforts of many individuals to increase the supply of usable organs. It gives preferences in case of need to those who are willing to make their organs available to others.” “It makes sense to give organ donors preferred access to the organs of other donors. It encourages people to become donors, and that will save lives,” adds David J. Undis, Executive Director of LifeSharers. LifeSharers members agree to donate their organs and tissue when they die. They direct their donations to other members of the LifeSharers network, unless no member is a suitable match. By giving other members preferred access to their organs, LifeSharers members reward organ donors and create an incentive for others to become donors.There has been a shortage of organs ever since the first transplant operations and it is getting worse every year. According to statistics compiled by the United Network for Organ Sharing, almost 85,000 Americans are now on a waiting list for an organ transplant, and another name gets added to the list about every 14 minutes. About half the people on the waiting list will die before they receive an organ. Somebody on the waiting list dies about every two hours. “I’m pleased to support LifeSharers’ innovative approach to reducing the organ shortage,” says Professor Epstein. “With Professor Epstein’s help we’ll be able to attract members and reduce the organ shortage faster,” explains David J. Undis, Executive Director of LifeSharers. LifeSharers membership is free and open to all at www.lifesharers.org. ABOUT RICHARD EPSTEIN Richard A. Epstein is James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School, and the Peter and Kirsten Bedford Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He has written extensively in many legal areas, including his book Mortal Peril: Our Inalienable Right to Health Care? (1997), which advocates a liberalization of the rules on organ sales. Complete biographical information on Professor Epstein is available at http://www.law.uchicago.edu/faculty/epstein/. About LifeSharers LifeSharers is a non-profit network of organ and tissue donors. Membership is free and open to all. Members agree to donate their organs when they die. They direct their donation to other members of the LifeSharers network, unless no member is a suitable match. By directing their gifts in this way, LifeSharers members reward other organ donors and create an incentive for others to donate their organs. LifeSharers was launched on May 22, 2002. The LifeSharers web site is at www.lifesharers.org. Contact:
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