Leslie Spry, M.D., FACP: Facebook and Organ Donation: What’s Your Status?
Last week I wrote about what’s involved in matching donor kidneys with recipients. While the checklist I reviewed (http://www NULL.huffingtonpost NULL.com/leslie-spry-md-facp/kidney-donation_b_1448762 NULL.html) is used each time there’s a potential match, the problem remains that there aren’t enough organs to go around. Unfortunately, not everyone will even make it to the “matching” point in the transplant process.
In the U.S., 18 people die (http://www NULL.kidney NULL.org/news/newsroom/fs_new/donation_trans_stats NULL.cfm) every day while waiting for a life-saving transplant. There are more than 114,000 people waiting for organs (http://optn NULL.transplant NULL.hrsa NULL.gov/data/), and more than 80 percent of them are waiting for kidneys.
I feel the need to really drive this message home in light of this week’s Facebook announcement (http://www NULL.huffingtonpost NULL.com/2012/05/02/facebook-organ-donor-users_n_1471821 NULL.html). In case you missed it, Facebook has now created a way for users to designate their organ donor status online through the Health and Wellness profile feature of the new Timeline. The National Kidney Foundation (http://www NULL.kidney NULL.org/) is encouraging people to use this profile feature to share their commitment to being an organ donor with friends and family. Once you have identified yourself as a Facebook organ donor, you can visit the Donate Life America website (http://www NULL.donatelife NULL.net) to choose your state of residence and learn more about the donation options in your area.
There is a great willingness and openness to share information about ourselves with those around us. From the mundane to the meaningful, Facebook has created a vehicle for more than 900 million (http://money NULL.cnn NULL.com/2012/04/23/technology/facebook-q1/index NULL.htm) to share personal information, offering an online window into our everyday lives — relationships, hobbies, interests, and even intimate thoughts and beliefs. Now there’s also an opportunity for people to share their wishes about organ donation in life and death.
Harnessing the power of social media for any social good is to be commended, and the issue of organ donation is near and dear to my heart (and kidneys). Hopefully, starting this conversation between family and friends on Facebook will make those who never thought about it begin to consider giving the gift of life. Collectively, we can make a difference and save thousands of lives.
If you’re still unsure, learn the facts. Organ donation doesn’t need to be a scary topic — find out more (http://www NULL.kidney NULL.org/transplantation/beadonor NULL.cfm):
- Organ donors can range in age from newborn to over 65 years of age.
- Six solid organs can be donated: kidneys, lungs, liver, pancreas, heart and intestines. Even the corneas, bones, tendons, skin and heart valves of a deceased donor can be transplanted and if desired, a donor can specify which organs and tissues are to be donated.
- Living donors can donate a kidney, part of the liver and bone marrow.
- A deceased donor can save the lives of up to eight people!
- Organ and tissue donation are not even considered until all possible efforts to save a person’s life have been exhausted.
- Most religions throughout the world support organ and tissue donation and consider it the ultimate humanitarian act. If you are concerned, check with your religious leader.
- Open casket funerals are still possible if you are an organ donor.
Once you’ve made the decision to donate, designating it on your driver’s license, joining your state registry, and signing a donor card are all ways to document your wishes about donation. Letting your family or other loved ones know about your decision is equally important. That’s because family members are often asked to give consent for a loved one’s donation, so it’s important that they know your wishes.
This week, I’ll leave you with a question: What’s your status?
Next time you post an update on Facebook, I challenge you to think about your status in the context of being an organ donor.
Have additional questions about donation and transplantation? Read more frequently asked questions (http://www NULL.kidney NULL.org/news/newsroom/fs_new/10quesorgan&tissdon NULL.cfm) surrounding organ and tissue donation and check out the National Kidney Foundation’s END THE WAIT! (http://www NULL.kidney NULL.org/transplantation/endthewait/etw_initiative NULL.cfm)initiative designed to increase organ donation and reduce the amount of time people spend on the waiting list.
For more by Leslie Spry, M.D., FACP, click here (http://www NULL.huffingtonpost NULL.com/leslie-spry-md-facp).
For more health news, click here (http://www NULL.huffingtonpost NULL.com/health-news/).
Related Reading:
Primer on Kidney Diseases: Expert Consult - Online and Print, 5e (Greenberg, Primer on Kidney) (http://www NULL.amazon NULL.com/Primer-Kidney-Diseases-Consult-Greenberg/dp/1416051856?SubscriptionId=AKIAJE7QYKLAUOEMSPJQ&tag=ebookplaza-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1416051856)
A Gift of Life: A Page From the Life of a Living Organ Donor (http://www NULL.amazon NULL.com/Gift-Life-Living-Organ-Donor/dp/0965055558?SubscriptionId=AKIAJE7QYKLAUOEMSPJQ&tag=546246187-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=0965055558)
The Organ Donor Experience: Good Samaritans and the Meaning of Altruism (http://www NULL.amazon NULL.com/The-Organ-Donor-Experience-Samaritans/dp/1442211156?SubscriptionId=AKIAJE7QYKLAUOEMSPJQ&tag=ebookplaza-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1442211156)
A Willingness to Die: Memories from Fighter Command (http://www NULL.amazon NULL.com/Willingness-Die-Memories-Fighter-Command/dp/0752440241?SubscriptionId=AKIAJE7QYKLAUOEMSPJQ&tag=ebookplaza-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=0752440241)
Kathy Kaehler: Have You Been Accountable?
Honesty is the best policy. I remember this statement from Sunday School and all the early years of being a Brownie and a Girl Scout. Living a truthful life should be the goal for all people. However, we live in a world where on a daily basis we experience crafty, cunning and untrustworthy advertising. Shady business practices are revealed on the nightly news and cheating the system happens as innocently as cutting in line at the amusement park.
Recently, I learned of an incident with a business that had been given misleading information and inaccuracies. The outcome: disappointment and money not well spent.
Have we lost the trait of being accountable? What would someone say about your accountability? Has it become so commonplace to embellish everything we say?
Accountability is an old-fashioned idea that says you are responsible for your actions. The willingness to be accountable for what you do, what you don’t do or refuse to do is a significant trait of your character.
Unaccountable people have every excuse in the book. They tend to blame others, complain, put things off and do the least amount of work necessary. As a parent, I am witness to the teenagers lingo of “I didn’t know,” “I wasn’t there,” “It’s not my job, “Nobody told me,” or “It isn’t really hurting anyone.”
The reason why I choose to write about accountability wasn’t just because of the excuses I hear from my teens or the disturbing dishonesty that a reputable business experienced, but to look at how cavalier we have become with stretching the truth.
As a fitness professional, I learned about being accountable a long time ago. Being an athlete, one learns from the moment he steps out onto the court that if he shoots an air ball, he can’t turn to blame the player behind him. It was he that missed. Accountability in sports involves competitors being held accountable to the rules and regulations of their sport.
For a champion athlete, the accountability is even higher. Tiger Woods comes to mind as to how quickly credibility can be stripped away when held accountable for one’s actions. If an athlete wants to maintain their reputations as champions, they have to work just as hard off the field as they work on the field. Michael Phelps is another example of this.
I will never forget the day early in my career as a personal trainer that I was met at the front door by one of my clients. Thank goodness it wasn’t anyone famous or I may not have continued my pursuit as a celebrity personal trainer. “I can’t train with you anymore, it has been weeks and I am gaining weight!” she said. I was being blamed for her futile attempt at weight loss, and yet when I left her home, I glanced into her car where a large bag of M&M’s lay open on the passenger seat. Side note: She lived alone with no kids.
Quickly placing blame when it doesn’t work out the way we want it to seems to be the way of the world at times. This doesn’t have to be the reality. Instead, honesty really is the best policy. For my business and my family I have also added, “Just follow the rules.” When you play a board game, it just doesn’t work if someone doesn’t follow the rules. Life, business and relationships work the same way. Below are a few exercises that you can work on.
- Tell the truth. Everybody messes up sometimes. Lying about it or trying to cover it up always makes it worse. Remember former President Bill Clinton? Need I say more? Save yourself some time and tell the truth.
- Police yourself. Are you accountable for your actions even if nobody holds you accountable — or nobody catches you? You bet you are. My Sunday Set-Up⢠club is the perfect example. I request that all my clients report back to me with their workout results. How many reps, how long did you hold the plank and how fast did you walked a mile? This is the perfect place to embellish your results. Why? You are only cheating yourself. You know how many you did, so why cheat?
- Look to yourself FIRST. If there is trouble, look in the mirror. Ask yourself, “What is the problem?” and “What am I doing — or not doing — and how can I help to solve it?”
Personal accountability is sorely lacking and urgently needed. Accountability is not just a mindset but a skill set that everyone can learn and should master. Choose accountability and own it. You will always come out on top.
“Never promise more than you can perform.” — Publilius Syrus
For more by Kathy Kaehler, click here (http://www NULL.huffingtonpost NULL.com/kathy-kaehler).
For more on mindfulness, click here (http://www NULL.huffingtonpost NULL.com/news/mindfulness).
Related Reading:
Storybook Love: A Storybook Park, A Storybook Romance (http://www NULL.amazon NULL.com/Storybook-Love-Park-Romance-ebook/dp/B0056BOS1K?SubscriptionId=AKIAJE7QYKLAUOEMSPJQ&tag=ebookplaza-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B0056BOS1K)
Standing Stark : The Willingness to Engage (http://www NULL.amazon NULL.com/Standing-Stark-Willingness-Carla-Woody/dp/1930192029?SubscriptionId=AKIAJE7QYKLAUOEMSPJQ&tag=546246187-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1930192029)
The Big Miss: My Years Coaching Tiger Woods (http://www NULL.amazon NULL.com/Big-Miss-Years-Coaching-Tiger/dp/0307985989?SubscriptionId=AKIAJE7QYKLAUOEMSPJQ&tag=ebookplaza-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=0307985989)
The Rider's Guide to Real Collection: Achieve Willingness, Balance and the Perfect Frame with Performance Horses (http://www NULL.amazon NULL.com/Riders-Guide-Real-Collection-Willingness/dp/1570764441?SubscriptionId=AKIAJE7QYKLAUOEMSPJQ&tag=ebookplaza-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1570764441)
