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Thursday, December 19, 2002 Press Release SOURCE: LifeSharers Organ Donors Get Their Just Desserts This Holiday SeasonLifeSharers Gives Organ Donors a Fair Shake When They Need Organs NASHVILLE, Tenn. – December 19, 2002 – About 80% of the human organs distributed for transplant operations in the United States go to people who haven’t agreed to donate their own organs. A new non-profit group called LifeSharers is helping organ donors get their fair share. Due to a shortage of organs that kills over 6,000 Americans every year, deciding who gets organs is a life-and-death proposition. When it’s time to decide who gets any particular organ, the official rules don’t give any preference to organ donors. But through a simple process called directed donation, anyone can direct that their organs be offered first to another organ donor. This rewards the generosity of organ donors and encourages more people to become donors. LifeSharers members do exactly that. LifeSharers is a non-profit network of organ donors. LifeSharers members agree to donate their organs and tissue when they die. Uniquely, they direct their donations first to their fellow members. Non-members can have a member’s organs if no member who is a suitable match for them wants them. By creating a pool of organs available first to members, LifeSharers members create an incentive for non-members to become donors and join the network. This incentive, which will become more powerful as membership in LifeSharers expands, is the key to reducing the organ shortage and saving lives. The advantage of being a LifeSharers member grows as the number of members increases. “When we have 1,000,000 members, you’ll be crazy not to join unless you’re absolutely positive you’ll never need an organ. If you don’t join, you’ll lose first access to 2,000,000 kidneys, 1,000,000 hearts, 1,000,000 livers, 2,000,000 lungs, 2,000,000 corneas, and more,” notes David J. Undis, Executive Director of LifeSharers. LifeSharers members direct their organs first to fellow members by accepting the LifeSharers membership agreement. Each member agrees that “It is my express wish that my organs and tissue be donated only to members of the LifeSharers network, unless no LifeSharers member is a suitable match. For each part of my body donated, I designate as donee that LifeSharers member who is the most suitable match as defined by the criteria in general use at the time of my death. The purpose of this wish is to encourage others to donate their organs and tissue.” Directed donation is protected by law and respected by the medical community. While it hasn’t been widely used by cadaveric donors, live organ donors have made good use of directed donation. Under the “Hope Through Sharing” program launched by the New England Medical Center, for example, a person moves up the national organ waiting list when a live relative donates a kidney. That program’s success to date shows the power of incentives to increase the supply of organs. Since its launch on May 22, 2002, LifeSharers has attracted 307 members in 34 states and the District of Columbia. According to Mr. Undis, “the success we’ve enjoyed in our first seven months of operation shows that LifeSharers has the potential to put a serious dent in the shortage of human organs.” Membership in LifeSharers is free. Anyone can join at http://www.lifesharers.org. Parents can sign up their minor children after enrolling themselves. The organ shortage will kill over 6,000 people in America this year, and it is getting worse every day. According to statistics compiled by the United Network for Organ Sharing, over 80,000 Americans are now on their waiting list for an organ transplant, and another name is added to the list 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 90 minutes. Only about 20% of Americans have signed organ donor cards indicating they want to donate their organs after they die. Official organ distribution rules don’t give a person any credit for having agreed to donate their own organs, so people who haven’t decided to donate their own organs get 80% of the organs that become available. The people who supply all the organs for transplant operations get only 20% of the organs that are distributed. About LifeSharers LifeSharers is a non-profit network of organ and tissue donors. Members agree to donate their organs when they die. They direct their donation first to other members of the LifeSharers network. By directing their gifts in this way, LifeSharers members create an incentive for others to donate their organs and join the network. LifeSharers was launched on May 22, 2002. The LifeSharers web site is at http://www.lifesharers.org. Contact:
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