I want to share my family's experience in hoping that it may persuade some of you to register to be organ donors.

Less than a year ago (on a Thursday), my brother (29) suddenly collapsed and stopped breathing. My other brother gave him CPR immediately and the medic arrived quickly. They took him to a small local hospital. The doctors (one who was the medical director) worked tirelessly to try to save his life. On Saturday, two doctors said that most brain dead but they hadn't done the full test to declare him brain dead. They asked us to think about organ donation. There were absolute no pressure to donate his organs. My parents and aunts want to believe that he wasn't brain dead because he still had occasional twitching. We asked to have his neurological test delayed until Monday so that we can help my parents deal with the fact that there was a possibility that he might be brain dead. We asked that the test be conducted by two other physician other than the two that were currently treating him. We even had the doctor discuss the procedures they were going to do with my cousins and her husband (both doctors). On Monday - the neurological test was done, and he was declared brain dead. His death certificate said he died on that Monday. We met with the organ donation coordinator on Monday. She was amazingly kind and caring. She told us that my brother had signed up to be an organ donor online (not very common) so he had consciously made an effort to be a donor. As a result, we didn't really have a say in it. (Although she said it in a very nice way and still wanted to address any concerns/questions that we had.) She asked if there was anything they could do to help with the grief. We asked that they keep his body on the ventilator until Wednesday so family and friends could say good bye to him. Medical insurance would have never paid for an extra two days of ICU. However, the organ donation center agreed and sent over private nurses to care for him in ICU for two days. The nurses were very compassionate - going out of their way to do whatever they could to help us through a very difficult time. The nurses brought books on grief for my niece and help my sister find a counselor to help talk to my neice about death. The donation center paid for the cost of the extra two days. (FYI - his medical bill for the first four days was over $200K). Before they did the organ harvesting, the doctors and nurse had a moment of silence for my brother. They also played his favorite songs during the process. My sister-in-law (a nurse at that hospital) learned after the fact from a nurse in the operating room that they treated his body with the utmost respect. The nurse who told my sister-in-law didn't realize that the organ donor was related to my sister-in-law. At the time, no one in the room knew that he had a family member who worked at the hospital, so I have to assume that we didn't get special treatment.

My parents, his siblings, and friends found comfort to know that even in his death he was able to help people. One kidney went to save a 2 year old boy whose parents will be able to see him run and play. The other kidney saved a 17 year old girl who will now be able to hang out with friends. His liver went to a 59 year old married man who will get to spend extra time with his family. His heart went to a 72 year old man who will get a few more years with loved one. There were tissue donation as well. For the organs that were not usable (such as his lung because he had asthma), it went into research in hope of helping fund a cure for people who suffered from his condition (asthma). My brother's donation had an extra special meaning to my family because just a few years prior, one of my uncles died while waiting for a liver. If there were more organ donors, maybe that uncle would be alive today to have walked his daughter down the wedding isle and watch her as she graduated from med school.

There are a few misconception that I'd like to address:

1. All major religions have said that organ donation is ok. My family is ultra religious, and if there were any question about it, my parents would have never agreed to organ donation.
   
2. They do not butcher the body. We had an open casket funeral.
3. Just because you can't donate blood, it does not mean you cannot be an organ donor. Even if you have medical problems or have "abused" your body, you should still sign up. The doctors run a lot of tests before using the organs. Let the professional make the decision.
4. Being an organ donor does not "rush" the doctors. In our case, because my brother was a donor, we had a few extra days to say good bye to him. The donation center was very sensitive to our family needs and were comforting during our moment grief.
5. If you sign up to be a donor, your family cannot override your wish.
   

One last thing - like many of the people here, my dad was very worried that if we agreed to have him as an organ donor, they would rush to get his organs. They didn't. But now my dad find much comfort in knowing that my brother help saved lives and part of his body continue to live on.

I hope my family's experience (from being a donor to having someone dying while waiting for an organ) will persuade those who are on the fence to become donors.