Organ donation a way to give of oneself -- literally -- to give another a fighting chance

DENVER, CO (Denver Catholic Register) - April has been designated National Donate Life Month, a time to educate Americans about the need for organ and tissue donation and transplantations. Right now in our nation, nearly 100,000 people are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant. Every day, 18 people die who are awaiting a life-saving organ.

Sadly, even though 9 out of 10 people support the concept of organ and tissue donation, statistics show that organs are donated less than half the time.

According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, organs that can be donated include heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, pancreas and small intestine. Tissues that can be donated include bones, tendons, ligaments, corneas, heart valves and skin. A single organ and tissue donor can help up to 50 people.

From 48 hours to new life

Kris Fitzgerald-Rohr knows firsthand the benefits of organ donation. She has received two livers since 2003. Today, she is healthy with a good outlook on life-- and she is one of the strongest proponents for organ donation you're likely to find.

"When I first got sick, I went into a coma," she said. "When I woke up five days later I had a new liver. The doctor said before the operation, I had 48 hours to live."

Unfortunately, Fitzgerald-Rohr went into what is called chronic rejection after the transplant. The cause for this was uncertain, but two years later she was fortunate to receive a second liver; something for which she is very grateful.

"This liver I received came from a 14-year-old male who passed away," she said. "But he and his family were committed to organ donation. I'm alive because of that."

Fitzgerald-Rohr attended the 9Health Fair at her home parish of Nativity of Our Lord in Broomfield April 12 to hand out literature on becoming an organ donor. That same weekend she'll be talking at all the Masses to share her story and the benefits of organ donation.

"I truly see this as a gift of life and a way of giving life to others," she said. "That's what we are called to do as Christians--give of ourselves. Is there any more intimate way to give of yourself?"

Official Church teaching

The "Catechism of the Catholic Church" states that organ transplants are, "in conformity with the moral law if the ...dangers and risks to the donor are proportionate to the good that is sought for the recipient. Moreover, it is not morally admissible directly to bring about the disabling mutilation or death of a human being, even in order to delay the death of other persons (2296)."

Anthony Lilles, academic dean at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary, said the Church emphasizes the need to uphold the dignity of the donor in organ and tissue donation.
"On the whole, the Church morally permits this but is also vigilant about abuses," he said. "There is a danger that the process can be commercialized and those at the end of their lives may not get the respect they deserve in the dignity of their death."

The Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, available on the Web site of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, states, "The transplantation of organs from living donors is morally permissible when such a donation will not sacrifice or seriously impair any essential bodily function and the anticipated benefit to the recipient is proportionate to the harm done to the donor" (Section III, No. 30).

Lilles went on to say that organ donation is a wonderful act of charity, but as we live in a time of radical commercialization of the medical industry people must maintain vigilance.
"The Church and the medical community need to be in constant dialogue," he said.

Pope Benedict XVI has said this about organ donation: "To be an organ donor means to carry out an act of love toward someone in need, toward a brother in difficulty. It is a free act of love, of availability, that every person of good will can do at any time and for any brother."

Fitzgerald-Rohr likes to quote from a teen student's essay written about organ donation: "Don't take your organs to heaven, heaven knows we need them here."

(For more information: Contact the Donor Awareness Council online at www.donor-awareness.org or call (303) 388-8605.)

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This story was made available to Catholic Online by permission of the Denver Catholic Register (www.archden.org), official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Denver, Colo.