by Angie Nelson

Created on: April 13, 2009

Organ donation is the gift of life. People who need tissue or organ donations don't ask to be put in the situations they are faced with. What do you suppose it feels like to ask someone to give up a part of themselves, or to dissect a recently deceased relative? It's not like asking someone to borrow some sugar. It is asking someone if they will make an enormous sacrifice so that you can have an adequate quality of life. Some people may feel this is selfish to ask for such a sacrifice. Religious folk, especially those who don't believe in medicine, will tell you that it is not His will; if God intended for you heart to fail, He intended for you to die that way. I believe in God, but I also believes he gave us medicine and doctors for a reason, and that one of His goals for us is to experience as much life as possible. On the other hand, Darwinians fall back to their old standard, "survival of the fittest." If that is the case, America should be a wasteland in the near future, considering the percentage of us who are overweight and obese.

Living organ donation is a major surgery. There are risks involved. There are also risks in getting your wisdom teeth removed, but most people sign up for that the minute the pain starts. There are risks in childbirth, but that doesn't stop the over-population of the Earth from happening. There are risks in everything you do, but you still have to live your life to the fullest.

My sister gave up her kidney to a young dialysis patient who needed one. When asked, she did not give it a second thought, despite the fact that at the time her marriage was less than perfect, and she was raising a five year old and a teenager while working full time. She did it because I am her sister, and because I asked her to. I needed that kidney, and my sister did not hesitate. My body rejected her kidney after a few years because I was non-compliant. After the surgery, the pain, the recovery, and the sacrifice she made, I wasn't intelligent enough to know how important this gift really was.

My sister still loves me. I would venture to guess if she originally had three good kidneys, she would give me another. She is a truly wonderful and giving person, and she realizes people make mistakes. I have paid for those mistakes for the last five years. I have had many complications with my kidney disease, and I have spent the last five years on dialysis. Fortunately, after therapy and treatment, I am ready to accept another gift of life, and my doctors agree.

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