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Wednesday, October 18, 2006 Press Release SOURCE: LifeSharers Professor Gerry W. Beyer Named Advisor to LifeSharersTexas Tech Law Professor to Assist Innovative Effort to Increase Organ Donations NASHVILLE, Tenn. – October 18, 2006 – Gerry W. Beyer, Governor Preston E. Smith Regents Professor of Law at Texas Tech University School of Law, has agreed to serve as an advisor to LifeSharers. LifeSharers is a non-profit network of organ donors that gives registered organ donors preferred access to transplantable organs. It was launched in 2002 to help alleviate the shortage of human organs needed for transplant operations. That shortage kills over 6,000 Americans every year. “Because of our system of presumed non-consent to organ donation, there is a large shortage of organs for transplantation in the United States,” says Professor Beyer. “To me, there is an inherent fairness in having organs made available first to individuals who have indicated their willingness to donate their own organs.” LifeSharers members agree to donate their organs when they die. They also direct that their organs be offered first to other LifeSharers members, if any member who needs them is a suitable match, before offering them to non-members. They do this through directed donation, which is legal in all fifty states and under federal law. By giving registered organ donors preferred access to their organs, LifeSharers members create an incentive for non-donors to become donors. “If you give organs first to registered organ donors you’ll get more registered organ donors, and that means fewer people dying waiting for organ transplants,” says David J. Undis, Executive Director of LifeSharers. “People who aren’t willing to donate their own organs when they die should go to the back of the transplant waiting list as long as the organ shortage persists.” The shortage of transplantable organs in the United States is large and growing larger every year. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, over 93,000 Americans are now on the national transplant waiting list. About 45,000 names are added to that list every year. More than half of the people on the waiting list will die before they get a transplant. Most of these deaths are preventable. Americans bury or cremate about 20,000 transplantable organs every year. LifeSharers membership is free and open to all at http://www.lifesharers.org or by calling 1-888-ORGAN88. There is no age limit, and parents can enroll their minor children. No one is excluded due to any pre-existing medical condition. LifeSharers members receive an organ donor card, letters to share with family members and doctors, and language to attach to their durable power of attorney for healthcare. Professor Beyer, an expert in wills and estate planning, helped design these materials. ABOUT GERRY W. BEYER Gerry W. Beyer is Governor Preston E. Smith Regents Professor of Law at Texas Tech University School of Law. More information about Professor Beyer is available at http://www.law.ttu.edu/lawWeb/faculty/bios/Beyer.shtm About LifeSharers LifeSharers is a 501(c)(3) non-profit network of organ donors. 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 6,225 members, including members in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The LifeSharers web site is at http://www.lifesharers.org. Contact:
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