Lying in a hospital bed, a young 14-year-old boy with brain cancer was not thinking about what would be the next Pokemon card he would buy.

Friday, February 25, 2000

Lying in a hospital bed, a young 14-year-old boy with brain cancer was not thinking about what would be the next Pokemon card he would buy. He was thinking about how he could save others.

The teenager decided he would become an organ donor. And even though he died too suddenly and only his corneas could be used to help others, this young man could teach many of us a lesson.

Too many of us rush through life thinking only of ourselves. Worried about getting to work on time, and the next weekend getaway, it can be very easy to forget to sign on that dotted line on the back of a driver’s license.

There is a limited timeframe for organ donation. Most organs are harvested from brain dead patients kept alive by support machines. Without the family’s or patient’s consent, millions who need a new heart, liver or kidney would die.

Even if death is unexpected, and the timeframe for organ donation has expired, tissues remain viable for a longer period of time. The skin can help in the recovery of burn victims. The corneas might give someone better sight.

And if you’re worried about how your body will look in the casket, doctors only remove tissue from large skin areas like the thighs and back, so you will look your best the last time any of your friends see you.

If a little boy who is dying can think enough about others to want to save a life, or two, why can’t the rest of us?

Make your last legacy, something that will live on after your gone – become an organ donor.