By this time tomorrow, 12 people in America who are alive right now will be dead.
Not because they were in a car wreck, .
Not because they were gunned down, .
Not because their time had come, .
not even because they weren't in the hospital, .
but simply because they couldn't be given a life-saving transplant in time. .
12 people will die because the organ transplant they need will not be possible. .
Money's not the issue here. .
Nor is scarcity. .
There are more than enough potential donors who pass away each day .
who could meet all the needs of people on the waiting list. .
The problem is, those potential donors die without leaving instructions that they are prepared to help someone live after them. .
And this is a problem on an enormous scale. .
Currently, nearly 60,000 Americans are waiting for a life saving organ transplant. .
Hundreds of thousands more would benefit from a life enhancing tissue transplant. .
And yet, every day 12 people will die while awaiting a transplant. .
And every 16 minutes another name is added to the waiting list. .
But here is the real tragedy: .
It really is so easy to fix this problem. .
There is an amazing network across the United States that links hospitals with one another and can match donors with patients. .
There is a sophisticated system running in organisations like the United Network for Organ Sharing which ensures that donors and donees are all brought into the system as smoothly and effortlessly as possible. .
The one element that's missing in sufficiently large numbers is a pool of donors. .
Maybe that could be you. .
So how can you help? .
Well, first, you need to make the decision that when the time comes, you would like to help someone else. .
And that's quite something to go through. .
It's not something you do without some emotion. .
But remember - you make provision for the people you leave behind when you write a will or buy insurance. .
This is one more of those preparations you can make that will make things better for other people in your life.
