By Kourtney Meldrum
When I renewed my driver’s license a few weeks ago, the man at the counter asked me if I wanted to sign up as an organ and tissue donor. I didn’t even think about the question, I’m pretty sure I didn’t even let him finish before I said “yes” and filled out the paperwork.
I didn’t give this a second thought as I signed and initialed, proudly handing over my entire body to science and those in need in case something ever happened. This thought might seem grim to some, but I thought about my uncle when that question was asked—it was a no-brainer.
My uncle received a donor’s heart, the greatest gift my family could have asked for after extensive time in a hospital. This heart gave him a new chance at life, and though it means the loss of someone else’s, this young and healthy heart was the most precious last sentiment the donor could have given, and we will all be forever grateful to the donor and his family.
Sadly my uncle passed away a year ago, due to a persistent infection—unrelated to his new and healthy heart—that he could not fight off. The year anniversary of this painful loss closely coinciding with the renewal of my license had me thinking—how small of a thing writing my name on that paper was, but what a major payback for so many people. So why weren’t more people, and especially young ones, doing this?
I had been through so much pain in losing my uncle, and the power of being given a heart deeply touched and affected my family and I. If I could one day give someone that gift if something happened to me, give someone another chance at life—why the hell wouldn’t I?
I know as a young person it’s not easy to have this conversation or to think about this. As I continue to process my own loss with the year anniversary drawing near, these thoughts have been at the forefront of my mind. I wanted to know what I could do.
After many conversations with my friends and family, I wanted to know if other people thought about this as much as I did. Did my other millennial friends even think about organ and tissue donation? About donating blood? Had these thoughts ever even crossed their mind?
The answer? Most of them had, although they hadn’t done anything about it. As with most people, they wanted to be an organ and tissue donor but hadn’t gone out of their way to make this happen. Most people don’t donate blood because we’re all busy – and hey I understand that.
Becoming an organ donor means you can save up to eight lives and improve the quality of seventy-five if something happens to you. One in sixty Canadians donated blood last year, but almost one in two Canadians is eligible to donate blood. In 2014 there were 4,500 people waiting for organ transplants, 2,356 got organs, and 278 died waiting for one. Does your busy schedule seem so inhibiting and important now?
As someone who has been personally touched by an organ donor, I want to tell you that as a young person—you need to make this a priority if this is something you’ve ever considered.
Sign the papers for your license, have conversations with your family about what your wishes are for your body in case anything happens, find your closest blood clinic and find out if you’re eligible to give blood- and if you are, do it.
It seems easy to brush this off as something that can be left for another day, but for the individual out there who can’t wait for a blood donation, whose life is dependant on an organ donation,and if god forbid something happens to you—it might be too late to make your wishes known in the terms of what you want to be done with your body.
It’s easy to get caught up in our millennial lives. School, work, a social life, an adequate amount of sleep (Is that even a thing?), and trendy brunches take up a lot of our time. But I urge you to take a step outside of your own world.
Educate yourself on what your options are and what you want to happen with your body when you die. Be active in making those decisions known. Donate blood if you’re eligible, it’s a small amount of your time that can save someone’s life – go with a friend and make a day out of it.
No one likes to think about death, but we have to consult the realities of it and what we—as young people—can do. Don’t be passive about decisions that can affect someone’s life. Educate yourself, have conversations with your friends and family, save a life.