Come thou no more for ransom, gentle herald:
They shall have none, I swear, but these my joints;
Which if they have as I will leave 'em them,
Shall yield them little, tell the constable.
Henry V Scene III
Most warriors and cops love the play Henry V by Shakespere. It contains the world famous St. Crispen's day speech which has the band of brothers quote in it. The play has other famous lines in it, such as the one above.
During the time period that the play is set in it was considered a normal practice of warfare that a person if he was important enough, or had enough money could pay a ransom for his safety from the opposing force. Henry by making the above statement made it clear that he was going to fight to the last, and not offer any type of ransom except his dead body.
So what does that have to do with the price of tea in China you might ask? Quite simple if you know how my mind works. While grilling out today I was thinking about my buddy Jez. You see, he was a organ donor and he helped a bunch of folks out with his organs, eyes and skin. So rather than be like good King Henry, Jez left a very valuable legacy for his fellow man.
I would appreciate it if you would think a few minutes about becoming a organ donor if you aren't one already. I am one and I hope that when I go to meet my maker that what ever I leave behind will help somebody out in living a long and healthy life. That way, I can at least continue to do good after I am gone. Not a bad way to be remembered.........
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4 comments:
I was thinking about that today, too. Jezzy being a donor, that is, not about Henry V. How cool would it be to not only need and GET a new heart, but for it to have belonged to some special forces dude. That's one hell of a legacy.
Over half of the 107,000 Americans on the national transplant waiting list will die before they get a transplant. Most of these deaths are needless. Americans bury or cremate about 20,000 transplantable organs every year. Over 9,000 of our neighbors suffer and die needlessly every year as a result.
There is a simple way to put a big dent in the organ shortage -- give organs first to people who have agreed to donate their own organs when they die.
Giving organs first to organ donors will convince more people to register as organ donors. It will also make the organ allocation system fairer. People who aren't willing to share the gift of life should go to the back of the waiting list as long as there is a shortage of organs.
Anyone who wants to donate their organs to others who have agreed to donate theirs can join LifeSharers. LifeSharers is a non-profit network of organ donors who agree to offer their organs first to other organ donors when they die. Membership is free at www.lifesharers.org or by calling 1-888-ORGAN88. There is no age limit, parents can enroll their minor children, and no one is excluded due to any pre-existing medical condition.
Nancy,
In a weird twist, I was told they couldn't use Jez's heart, there was some kind of problem with it, as healthy as he was. They were`able to use the liver, kidneys, eyes, skin so he was able to help a heck of a lot of folks.
Dave,
Thanks for the info. I agree that it is a waste to take those usable organs with you. However, I don't know that the idea of giving organs first to those who have agreed to donate would work. I would wonder if the anti-rejection drugs would cause issues with the body organs. Not criticizing mind you, just wondering.
Dave, when I first heard of this concept, I thought it sounded really neat, and then I started thinking about it more closely. . .
First, I always thought that being an organ recipient was an automatic disqualifier for donating.
Second, there are the people who are disqualified from donation because of the same condition that forces them to need an organ in the first place. No matter how willing they would be to donate their organs, there wouldn't be much reason for them to sign up, now would there?
I refuse to be so tight fisted with my organs -- whoever they can help the most can have them. If I could be guaranteed they'd return the body to my family afterwards, the medical students would be free to slice, dice, and make Julien fries out of whatever the transplant network cannot use. I'd rather young MDs practice on me than the traditional Galenic method. I just want to left over ribs and chuck roast returned so my family can stick it in the ground (roasted or not, their choice).
A better option might be to make "organ donor" an absolute, but affirmative defence to driving without a seatbelt or driving a motorcycle without a helmet.
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