Chris Mahoney, with Michelle and Emerson

Organ donation isn’t something most people think about very often unless they are in need of an organ transplant and then they think about it all the time, hoping and waiting for a match. Today, one of my friends (and my children’s school director) got a badly needed liver transplant. He was on the list for awhile, all the time his health was degrading to the point where it was very precarious. Thankfully the new liver is taking even during the tail end of the 12-15 hour long surgery. I’m glad Chris finally got a new liver. I’m not glad that he was sick enough to move to the top of the donor list. Now he (and his family) can begin the long road to recovery and hopefully he won’t look like big bird for too long.

I’ve been marked as a organ donor since I received my driver’s license at 16. In California, you can sign a little card, attach it to the back of your license and put the little pink dot on the front of your license indicating you are willing to be an organ donor. But who’s going to find my license in the event of an accident and check for that little pink sticker (and any limitations)? Why isn’t there a national (or international) organ donor registration? There are various registries but some times they are limited by organ and by state (or country). Some countries have opt-in systems (which have low participation rates and some countries have opt-out systems, which, of course, have an almost 100% participation rate).