To Do

Updated December 11, 2009

I sometimes refer to this list as my ‘list of things to do before I die’. This is one of very few items on the list that I might have to wait until after I die to check off. There aren’t very many organs you can donate while still alive. A kidney and a bit of liver. I think that’s it.

Yes, I have a pink DONOR sticker on my driver’s license and I hope that my family honors my wishes after I die. How could I not be an organ donor? If someone can find a use for my old heart, eyes, or kidneys, then more power to them. Goodness knows I’ll certainly have no use for them – and if I can make someone else’s life a little longer and a little better, then I’m all for it.

I’ve always felt that I should donate my organs, but I see things in the world around me that only strengthen that conviction. Will Smith’s movie, 7 Pounds, for example. Or Return to Me, one of my favorite movies of all time. Or the amazing story of Chaya Lipschutz told on episode 347 of This American Life – she secretly donated her kidney than became a kidney matchmaker, out making matches between donors and people in need of kidneys. I love hearing the stories of recipients and how their lives were changed. Let a little of yourself live on.