I have a fair few friends waiting for organs. This is not like waiting for your delivery from Amazon of the latest gadget you've been lusting after for awhile, or groceries from Tesco. You don't get listed for a transplant until there is a very high chance of you not making it through another year or so, and it is certainly not a decision taken lightly by doctors or patients. This is a choice between certain death and getting another chance at a healthy life (albeit one with extra medication and maybe a few complications). For someone with CF, it's a chance at a quality of life that they probably haven't experienced since childhood.
Now even before CF had reared it's ugly head in our lives I was a regular blood donor, and back then I knew many people who would say that they wouldn't or couldn't donate blood for all sorts of *pathetic reasons, and I had a tendency to get on my overly moralistic high horse about this attitude, but mostly keep schtum, as I know my goody goody holier-than-thou views are pretty annoying. But with organ donation I find it harder to keep quiet.
You are far more likely to need an organ donation than you are to give one. Think about that. Please.
If you really have thought about it, and you really really can't see past whatever issues you have about organ donation and you choose not to donate, I can't agree, but I'll try and understand your reasons if you explain them to me. Worse are the ignorant few who won't even consider it, or can't be bothered to sign up, or tell their family their wishes.... If you needed a transplant, or your father, mother, sister, brother, child.... would you not jump at the chance?
People with CF make up a large proportion of people on the waiting list for new lungs, and almost half of them will die waiting because of a shortage of donations. Partly due to cross infection issues, there is a strong CF community online, and over the years I have known many people miss the chance of a transplant, and others who made it and now live remarkable almost CF free lives (transplanted lungs do not 'get CF', but other organs don't lose CF, so digestion is still affected, but lungs are not). What an amazing opportunity it can offer. How remarkable that transplants are possible! If only everyone had that chance.
Live life then give life. What ya gonna do with them anyway, right? Sign the register Here
* I realise that only 5% of people donate blood, so I might be offending 95% of people reading this, but I do accept that many people have very valid reasons not to. It's just the 'can't be bothered / just don't really fancy it / my great aunt once removed had a bruise after donating' kind if reasons I am suggesting might be a teeny tiny bit pathetic.
