Identify yourself, your interest in organ donation, and maybe provide a phone number where you can be reached to answer questions. Both are carefully worded to sound friendly and sincere, and to avoid any ghoulish connotations that might occur when connecting the subject of Halloween with transplantation, but this month's version contains a few minor, but important, edits. The mother went on to explain to the patient sitting beside her that neither she nor her 7-year old son had any strings that they could pull to get special treatment. Yes, it is, but not unheard of. We are all very aware of the statistics about the number of people who die every day awaiting a transplant.
Location is another important factor that is often overlooked by the media.
While press coverage always refers to national lists, donor organs are matched to suitable candidates within the same region, so an organ recovered on the west coast has no impact on patients waiting on the east coast. A look at our own membership rolls turns up several recipients who didn't stay long on the waiting list. The record holder has to be Haemi Kahan, a young woman in apparent good health when she was admitted to the hospital to give birth to her first child. Shortly after delivery, Haemi became critically ill and was getting sicker by the hour. Once listed, Haemi waited only 10 hours before she underwent the surgery that saved her life.