I wonder how many people say ‘yes’ to organ donation on their driver’s license but are still uneasy about it. It is important for those of us who want to stimuate donation to reassure such people both for their own peace of mind and because if we don’t they will convey their doubts to others. I recenty received an email from someone I didn’t know but who had just read that Jamie Lee Curtis was once my wife. (In a television movie, I have to admit, not in real life!)
“The timing of reading your story was ironic,” the letter said. “I had just received my California driver’s license and checked off the organ donor box, even though it’s something that has always caused me a bit of anxiety.”
Photo by permission of New England Donor Services.
I’ve written back assuring her that, if anything happens to her, the doctors will give her exactly the same treatment whether she has agreed to donate or not. She could be confident of that, I added, not only because that is expected of them but also because their reputations, careers. self-esteem and future earnings all depend on them saving lives not losing them.
Reg Green
The Nicholas Effect 