Organ and Tissue Donors
May 1st, 2008 by Mike VasilindaIt will soon be easier to donate your organs and tissue after you are gone. Legislation on its way to the governor will let you sign up to be an organ donor over the internet instead of at the Drivers License office. The idea was inspired by Gainesville State Senator Steve Oelrich, who lost his son 13 years ago.
“I lost my 18-year-old son in Gainesville and it was a very dark time in my life,” Olerich said. “The silver lining of that was that he got to be an organ and tissue donor and at this point 102 people have received something from my son, Nick. So this really had both a personal and a regional impact, but the thing about it is that it’s going to have a statewide impact. We probably have about four times as many donors as we had at this time last year.”
The legislation also puts the database in the hands of transplant professionals instead of bureaucrats and the hope is that it will speed up the delivery or organs to those in need.
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