Excerpt from prepared remarks by Susan Whitman Helfgot at the 2010 National Association of Organ Procurement Organizations recently held in Baltimore, Maryland.
... finally removing your wedding ring from your finger after a period of time signifies acceptance of a loss. So, too, is saying, “yes” when asked to make the gift of a loved one’s organs. It is powerfully difficult, requiring an immediate acceptance of the fact someone we love dearly has just died, our yes signifying the staggering truth, “Yes, I realize he is gone and is never coming back." But the donation of a face is a very different kind of organ donation, tapping into a different kind of acceptance, probing the very deepest emotional spaces we inhabit as human beings.
AOPO represents and serves Organ Procurement Organizations through advocacy, support, and development of activities that will maximize the availability of organs and tissues and enhance the quality, effectiveness, and integrity of the donation process.
As of July 30, 2010, 107,913 people are on the waiting list to receive the Gift of Life.
By: Susan Whitman Helfgot, Author of The Match available in bookstores & online October 12
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