Could One of Your Kidneys Save Somebody’s Life?

www.catherinecarrigan.com

This year, 4,500 may die waiting for a kidney transplant.

Could one of your kidneys save somebody’s life?

While we can give our money, volunteer our time and contribute to the well being of others through prayer, one of the major ways to make a significant difference is to donate a kidney to someone waiting for the gift of life.

All the major religions have blessed the act of organ donation, recognizing this selfless act as not only morally and ethically acceptable but also an expression of sacrificial love for a neighbor.

There are over 90,000 people on the kidney transplant waiting list and many people wait more than 5 years for a kidney. The waiting list has doubled in size over the past 10 years and it continues to grow.

When you get a drivers license, you can register to become an organ donor after your death for the 120,000 Americans waiting for organ transplants.

If you already have your drivers license, you can register right now to become an organ donor after your death at this national database. When you register, know that you will literally be a hero saving other people’s lives. You will leave a living legacy in the improved well being of others.

Many people are shocked to learn that 18 people die every day due to the shortage of available organ donors.

Because you have two kidneys, you can contribute one while still living and continue to enjoy good health.

I am writing this blog because my life-long friend Pomeroy Williams of Savannah, Georgia, is one of the people waiting on the kidney transplant list.

Pomeroy has been a lawyer with Bouhan Falligant since 1961. He concentrates in the areas of corporate law, securities regulation, tax law, including state and local taxation, and financial and estate planning.

Every day, Pomeroy has to perform kidney dialysis on himself at home.

“I have a catheter sticking out of my side that I have to drain out three times a day. It takes about 35 minutes,” he reports.

“If I had a donor I could be over this in a month.

“I feel good, I feel great as a matter of fact.

“I enjoy good health otherwise.”

Pomeroy got on the waiting list for a kidney transplant at Emory University Hospital in June 2016.

Subsequently, he got on the waiting list at the The Medical University of South Carolina as well as the Mayo Clinic.

“I have had 4 donors turned down because of age, high blood pressure and cancer,” Pomeroy reports.

If you would like to contribute a kidney to Pomeroy, please email him at winston428@icloud.com or contact Emory, the Medical University of South Carolina, Mayo Clinic or TransplantLiving.org.

“It won’t cost them a nickel. It will be paid for by the government and the insurance company,” Pomeroy reports.

“I will take care of housing and transportation and incidental expenses.”

You may also call the Living Donor Assistance Center at 800–870–5002 or check their website at www.livingdonorassistance.org for help with incidental expenses. This organization provides financial assistance to those who want to donate an organ.

You can also contact Harold Mintz, one of the first people in the U.S. to donate one of his kidneys to a total stranger, at haroldharold13@yahoo.com or call him at 703–629–4440 or www.1800giveusyourkidney.com.

In the U.S., it is not legal for anyone to purchase a kidney.

Benjamin E. Hippen wrote a paper called “Organ Sales and Moral Travails: Lessons from the Living Kidney Vendor Program in Iran,” in which he decries the lack of a coherent government policy that would solve the problem of kidney shortages. He argues that the National Organ Transplant Act of 1984 which prohibits the sale of organs should be repealed.

There is little debate over the benefits of transplantation compared to being on kidney dialysis. Life expectancy figures comparing the two are surprising. A man between the ages of 40–45 could expect to live about 8 years on dialysis, if he were to receive a transplant, he could expect to live more than 20 years. Women who start dialysis between the ages of 55–59 could expect to live approx 5 years. However, they could live more than 16 years with a transplant, and someone’s life would improve dramatically when they are not dependent on dialysis treatments.

Currently there are thousands of people in the U.S. waiting for organ transplants:

• Kidney: 98,503 people.
• Liver: 14,408 people.
• Heart: 4,003 people.
• Lung: 1,376 people.
• Pancreas: 947 people.

What is healing? Healing happens when you register to become an organ donor after your death.

Should you take the compassionate step and give a kidney to help someone like Pomeroy? Please join me in my prayer for Pomeroy:

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the life of Pomeroy Williams. Thank you for all he has contributed to others throughout his life. If it is Thy will, please help Pomeroy to find the donor willing and able to contribute a kidney so that he may enjoy improved health the rest of his days. Thank you for all the doctors, nurses and donors who make this inspired healing possible. Thank you God, thank you God, thank you God. Amen.