Donating an organ, whether you do it when you are fully alive, or when you are on life support is one of the kindest, most loving things you can do. I will never be able to thank the family of the young man who gave his lungs to my aunt, but they are always in my heart.
My heart aches for you Maura. I’m glad you included pictures of Ellen, it was nice to “see” her again. When my sister lost her weeks-old baby girl to SIDS, she and her husband donated Jessica’s eyes. This hits home.
Maura, a beautiful piece that broke my heart at the end, I'm sorry about your sister. I cannot imagine what a loss like that would feel like. I believe it is a shocking ineptitude (as you say) that leads to this sort of oversight. Large organisation like these are riddled with people who just don't care the way they should - a sharp (and depressing) reality of the healthcare system - which makes me wonder why work in healthcare if you're not willing to care about others?
I was truly stunned by the statistic Sen. Warren shared - how can you so easily lose an organ, "forget" to collect one. An overhaul of the system is needed, though I could not suggest in the slightest how that could be done on a scale so large.
Dear Maura, This hits home more than you realize. My sister has been waiting for a kidney donation for nearly two years, and has functioned with less than 15% kidney function, sometimes going down to less than 9%. I read that the kidney will probably come when she's in an emergency situation, but we hate to depend on that vague promise. Your story should go viral!
Dialysis is not what it was decades ago. I would seriously consider home dialysis, were I your sister. It’s very do-able to travel and dialize oneself. My sister Ellen did it in the car traveling across country by car, and that was 30+ years ago!
Maura, you probably saw this piece in the NYT. The shocking statistic is that one out of five kidney donations do not reach a recipient. And that "reform" will be slow in coming, perhaps not soon enough for people like my sister. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/22/us/politics/organ-transplants-biden.html
Donating an organ, whether you do it when you are fully alive, or when you are on life support is one of the kindest, most loving things you can do. I will never be able to thank the family of the young man who gave his lungs to my aunt, but they are always in my heart.
Maura,
A very good piece. It speaks to many, many families, like mine, who have watched a relative waiting for an organ. I’m sorry about your sister.
Tim Harmon
My heart aches for you Maura. I’m glad you included pictures of Ellen, it was nice to “see” her again. When my sister lost her weeks-old baby girl to SIDS, she and her husband donated Jessica’s eyes. This hits home.
Maura, a beautiful piece that broke my heart at the end, I'm sorry about your sister. I cannot imagine what a loss like that would feel like. I believe it is a shocking ineptitude (as you say) that leads to this sort of oversight. Large organisation like these are riddled with people who just don't care the way they should - a sharp (and depressing) reality of the healthcare system - which makes me wonder why work in healthcare if you're not willing to care about others?
I was truly stunned by the statistic Sen. Warren shared - how can you so easily lose an organ, "forget" to collect one. An overhaul of the system is needed, though I could not suggest in the slightest how that could be done on a scale so large.
Dear Maura, This hits home more than you realize. My sister has been waiting for a kidney donation for nearly two years, and has functioned with less than 15% kidney function, sometimes going down to less than 9%. I read that the kidney will probably come when she's in an emergency situation, but we hate to depend on that vague promise. Your story should go viral!
Dialysis is not what it was decades ago. I would seriously consider home dialysis, were I your sister. It’s very do-able to travel and dialize oneself. My sister Ellen did it in the car traveling across country by car, and that was 30+ years ago!
Maura, you probably saw this piece in the NYT. The shocking statistic is that one out of five kidney donations do not reach a recipient. And that "reform" will be slow in coming, perhaps not soon enough for people like my sister. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/22/us/politics/organ-transplants-biden.html