37. How many lives are touched by one donation?

Let's begin where the donation begins: with you and your family. The decision to donate is a very personal one, but one that can bring feelings of pride in having made a decision that will help others. With donation, your family can take some comfort in knowing that in the midst of death, life can be passed on. As one family says goodbye, somewhere, someone else's parent, sibling, spouse, or grandchild is getting a second chance at life. Donor family members say that this knowledge is a great comfort, and can help ease their grief a little.

Next, of course, is the person whose life was saved by the donation. And along with saving that one recipient's life, the donation also benefits the recipient's immediately family, keeping the family intact, as well as his circle of friends and extended family. Finally, the donation ends up benefiting neighbors, coworkers, and other members of the community, as the recipient is able to resume his role in society.

Imagine this multiplied by seven (if the heart, both lungs, both kidneys, pancreas, and liver) if all the donor's organs are transplanted, and add to that the people who benefit from the donated tissues, and you can begin to see that one donor can have very far-reaching effects, touching too many lives to count.

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