Ways of Remembering
To Remember Me - Organ Donation
 
Journey of Hearts 
A Healing Place in CyberSpaceTM
 
Share your life...

As a physician, I have had to approach families following the often sudden death of a loved one. Organ Donation is a way of turning the sudden loss into a positive experience, and becomes a way of remembering.

In December the American Medical Association voted to endorse the approach of the Texas Medical Association's "Live and Then Give" program. The AMA is now looking into ways that it can work with all states to implement the program nationally and is working to increase public awareness about organ donation. I realized that our website was a perfect area for educating people on organ donation and was a way, as an AMA Member, to work on getting out the word to the public.

 
 
Each day a lucky 55 people (or so) receive an organ transplant,
but another 55,000 are on the waiting list.
10 people on the waiting list die each day,
because not enough organs are available.
Four thousand of them die each year while waiting.
Every 16 minutes a new name is added 
to the National Organ Transplant waiting list.
 

What follows are several inspirational, motivational stories, a variety of resources for organ donation - including information and where to get organ donor cards, and a few other transplant stories we have found on the Internet.

This page was started in response to the following e-mail that we received in July 11, 1998:

 
 
To Remember Me - I will live forever
Robert N. Test
 
The day will come when my body will lie upon a white sheet neatly tucked under four corners of a mattress located in a hospital; busily occupied with the living and the dying. At a certain moment a doctor will determine that my brain has ceased to function and that, for all intents and purposes, my life has stopped. 

When that happens, do not attempt to instill artificial life into my body by the use of a machine. And don't call this my deathbed. Let it be called the bed of life, and let my body be taken from it to help others lead fuller lives. 

    Give my sight to the man who has never seen a sunrise, a baby's face or love in the eyes of a woman. 

    Give my heart to a person whose own heart has caused nothing but endless days of pain. 

    Give my blood to the teenager who was pulled from the wreckage of his car, so that he might live to see his grandchildren play. 

    Give my kidneys to the one who depends on a machine to exist from week to week. 

    Take my bones, every muscle, every fiber and nerve in my body and find a way to make a crippled child walk. 

    Explore every corner of my brain. 

    Take my cells, if necessary, and let them grow so that, someday a speechless boy will shout at the crack of a bat and a deaf girl will hear the sound of rain agianst her window. 

    Burn what is left of me and scatter the ashes to the winds to help the flowers grow. 

    If you must bury something, let it be my faults, my weakness and all prejudice against my fellow man. 

    Give my sins to the devil. 

    Give my soul to God.

If, by chance, you wish to remember me, do it with a kind deed or word to someone who needs you. If you do all I have asked, I will live forever. 
Robert N. Test
 
 The two hand image is adapted from the Creation Series, Creating Adam by Michangelo Cistine Chapel
 
Transplant Resources
Other Transplant Stories
Transplant Stories on the Web
The Gift of Life Webring

We are honored to be included in the The Gift of Life Webring, as a way to help promote education of the public about the need for Organ Donation.

This ring was created by Deb Alleman, in memory of Cole Anthony Alleman as a way of passing on his legacy by promoting Organ and Tissue Donation. The site was created to link together Donor Families and Transplant Recipient Families throughout the world. We, Donor and Transplant Recipient Families to pass on  Loved Ones Legacy, by sharing the stories and educating the general public about making the decision to share their life by giving "The Gift of Life".

This
The Gift Of Life

site is owned by
Kirsti A. Dyer, MD, MS.

Click here for info on how to join The Gift Of Life Ring.

[Skip Previous] [Previous] [Next] [Skip Next] [Random] [Next 5 Sites] [List Sites]


Last updated January 30, 1999

 The Green Ribbon signifies organ donation.
All material, unless otherwise specified, is © 1997-9 by Journey of Hearts A Healing Place in CyberSpace. We invite you to share the information on this site with others who may benefit, but ask that you share from the heart only and not for profit.
To contact the Domain Designer email to email@kirstimd.com  To return to home page.