Families grieving loss have chance to save another's life

Families grieving loss have chance to save another's life

Bradley Warady • April 20, 2009

A dying child lies still in a hospital bed. Clustered at her bedside, her distraught family clings to hope.
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They are hoping for a miracle. The kind that occurs every day, yet not nearly as often as it could. Certainly not often enough.

The miracle they desperately hope for will take place in an operating room. But before physicians and nurses can play their part in that miracle, they need a gift.

In another hospital room, somewhere, another family grieves. No miracle was granted to them this day, and they know the pain that only the death of a loved one can bring. In the midst of their sorrow, a hospital team offers them consolation, sympathy, understanding - and an opportunity.

Denied the miracle they needed to keep their family whole, they now have the chance to grant one to another family -- or even multiple families.

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As a physician that cares for children who receive kidney transplants, I live in awe of these everyday miracles.

I am in awe of the advances in scientific knowledge and medical technology that allow our medical and surgical teams to perform these lifesaving procedures. I am in awe of the dedicated professionals and volunteers who built and maintain the transplant network on which that work depends.

Most of all, I am in awe of the sacrifice that donor families make in the midst of their grief and pain. Without their charity and grace, there would be no such medical miracles.

During April, National Donate Life Month, many people will take a moment to think about organ and tissue donation. The global donation rate, however, still trails the need by a substantial margin. Eighteen people die every day awaiting a transplant that never becomes available. Today, more than 100,000 transplant candidates across the world await a potential donor. The number continues to rise on a daily basis.

Currently, there are 1,990 children in the United States on the waiting list for an organ transplant. That's nearly 2,000 families, clustered in hospital rooms, waiting by the telephone or just hoping, hoping for a miracle of generosity, grace, courage and life.

It is a testament to our staff, and our community, that Children's Mercy is in the top 30 among all hospitals nationally, and second among all children's hospitals, in organ donation conversion rate (2008). For the third consecutive year, Children's Mercy received the distinguished service award for excellence in organ donation and transplantation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. However, these accolades mean nothing without donors.

As a physician, as a father, and as a witness to everyday miracles, I can attest to the immeasurable value of organ and tissue donation. The gift of life is a miracle made possible by families who, in times of grief, see an opportunity, a lifeline. Another chance for another life.

http://www.news-leader.com/article/20090420/OPINIONS/904200317/1006/OPINIONS

Bradley Warady, M.D., is section chief, nephrology, and director of Dialysis and Transplantation at Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City.