|
|
|
   |
| ||||||
|
|
Tuesday, July 11, 2006 Press Release SOURCE: LifeSharers LifeSharers Organ Donation Program Grows 61% Percent Despite ControversyMembers Agree to Organ Donation, Improve Chances of Receiving an Organ If and When in Need NASHVILLE, Tenn. – July 11, 2006 – The controversial non-profit LifeSharers reports its membership grow by 61 percent year-over-year from June 2005 to June 2006. Thanks in part to increased media attention, word about the organization’s incentive program to add more volunteers to the nation’s organ donation list is reaching both proponents and opponents alike. HOW IT WORKS Those who join LifeSharers agree to donate any usable organs upon their demise. They also agree to offer their organs first to other LifeSharers members, if any member in need is a suitable match, before offering them to non-members. In exchange, they get preferred access to the organs of other LifeSharers members, which moves them up the recipient list should they ever be in need of a transplant. This is accomplished via directed donation, which is legal in all 50 states and under federal law. Signing up is free and open to everyone at www.lifesharers.org or by calling 1-888-ORGAN88. There is no age limit, parents can enroll their minor children, and no one is disqualified due to any pre-existing medical condition. PROGRAM SPARKS CONTROVERSY The “organs for organ donors” concept, however, has been under fire from some in the medical and bioethics community as being unfair. Its detractors insist it’s unfair to base decisions on who gets an organ on whether a patient belongs to any given group. Such decisions should be solely and objectively based on clinical considerations, opponents say. LifeSharers Executive Director David J. Undis sees the fairness issue differently. He points out that 60 percent of organs transplanted in the U.S. go to people who have not agreed to donate their own organs when they die. That's not fair, he maintains, and says it's one of the reasons such a large organ shortage exists. “Nothing could be fairer than serving organ donors first, since there would be no transplants without donors,” Undis says. “More importantly, moving registered organ donors up the waiting list creates an incentive for non-donors to become donors. That saves lives.” LIFESHARERS DESIGNED TO EASE SERIOUS ORGAN DONOR SHORTAGE One thing both LifeSharers and its opponents do agree on: the need to recruit more organ donors is more critical than ever. More than 92,000 people are currently waiting for organ transplants in the U.S., more than half of whom will die before they get a transplant. “That’s why the controversies surrounding the LifeSharers incentive program, proposals for financial incentives, and other related topics such as black-market organ sales are getting so much attention,” Undis says. “The urgency for more volunteers is definitely there.” The number of people who need transplants has been growing about five times faster than the rate of donations. Further, only about 40 percent of Americans are registered organ donors. Americans bury or cremate about 20,000 transplantable organs every year, about half of the available supply from potential deceased donors. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, last year 28,000 people received transplants in the United States, 44,000 people were added to the national transplant waiting list, 6,000 people were removed from the list because they had died, and 2,000 more were removed because while waiting they had become too sick to undergo transplant surgery. The waiting list has doubled in the last ten years. “People who aren't prepared to share the gift of life should go to the back of the transplant waiting list as long as there is a shortage of organs,” Undis says. About LifeSharers LifeSharers is a 501(c)(3) non-profit network of organ donors staffed by unpaid volunteers. Membership in LifeSharers is free and open to all. LifeSharers does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, physical handicap, health status, marital status, or economic status. Since its launch on May 22, 2002, LifeSharers has attracted over 5,100 members, including members in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. For more information, visit www.lifesharers.org. Contact:
Click here to download and print a copy of this press release. Click here to join the distribution list for LifeSharers press releases. |
|
|
|
