Off-topic Tuesday: Donate life. Tell your family.

While I absolutely believe that organ donation is a personal choice, I also can’t help but think that once we leave this earth, it’s a little selfish not to give someone (or up to 10 people) a chance at life by making available organs we have no use for ourselves. Of course, some people choose not to donate for religious and cultural reasons, which I completely respect.

But for many, not registering to donate their organs after their death just means they forgot. And if you forget, and haven’t told your nearest and dearest, your family may, rightly or wrongly, at a very sad and stressful time, say no. This seems to be an awful waste. Death is never easy and always sad. But out of something so sad, to be able to offer someone fighting for life, who may have been on a transplant list for months or even years, the chance at a new life, is such an amazing and joyful thing to be able to do; a privilege in fact.

So today I’m using Off-topic Tuesday to ask you to get on the national register. It takes just a few minutes. Also, tell your partner, family and close friends of your intentions and ask them what theirs are. Because even if you register, your family or next of kin will still have the final say. Make sure they know your wishes.

If you’re already 100% sure, head straight to this form to register on the Australian Organ Donation Register.  You may also register not to donate here.

If you’d like to find out more about organ donation, visit Donate Life for heaps of useful and interesting information to help you decide whether organ donation is for you.

Some facts

• One organ and tissue donor can transform the lives of 10 or more people.
• Australia is a world leader for successful transplant outcomes.
• Around 1,600 people are on Australian organ transplant waiting lists.
• In 2012, 354 organ donors gave 1,052 Australians a new chance in life.
• The number of organ donors and transplant recipients in 2012 was the highest since national records began.
• In Australia the family will always be asked to confirm the donation wishes of the deceased before donation can proceed.
• In Australia less than 60% of families give consent for organ and tissue donation to proceed.
• 44% of Australians do not know or are not sure of the donation wishes of their loved ones.
• The majority of Australians (92%) that are aware of their family members’ wishes indicate that they would uphold those wishes.

The above statistics were taken from the Donate Life website.