Over 50% of the people on the national transplant waiting list will die before they get a transplant. Most of these deaths are needless. Americans bury or cremate 20,000 transplantable organs every year.

There is a simple way to put a big dent in the organ shortage – give donated organs first to people who have agreed to donate their own organs when they die.

Giving organs first to organ donors will convince more people to register as organ donors. It will also make the organ allocation system fairer. People who aren’t willing to share the gift of life should go to the back of the waiting list as long as there is a shortage of organs.

Anyone who wants to donate their organs to others who have agreed to donate theirs can join LifeSharers. LifeSharers is a non-profit network of organ donors who agree to offer their organs first to other organ donors when they die. Membership is free at http://www.lifesharers.org or by calling 1-888-ORGAN88. There is no age limit, parents can enroll their minor children, and no one is excluded due to any pre-existing medical condition. LifeSharers has over 13,500 members at this writing.

Please contact me – Dave Undis, Executive Director of LifeSharers – if your readers would like to learn more about our innovative approach to increasing the number of organ donors. I can arrange interviews with some of our local members if you’re interested. My email address is daveundis@lifesharers.org. My phone number is 615-351-8622.

If you would like to explore options for burial, I would recommend you get a copy of Grave Matters, by Mark Harris. You can pick up a copy rather inexpensively from Amazon.

He discusses a wide array of funeral options, from the traditional, to cremation, to a “home” funeral, which I think you will find very helpful.

Be advised that Mr. Harris makes it clear that he is opposed to traditional funerals, as is clearly shown in his treatment of the various choices. He speaks very much of the traditional funeral director and funeral home as if it is simply a money-making scam, and crematoriums as if they are nothing less than saints, whose only intention is to get you through this inconvenient process as cheaply as possible. I believe the truth lies somewhere in the middle for both choices.

The main differences that seem to make the cremation considerably less expensive is that the consumer has a more active role. As a chaplain, I deal with bereaved families on a very regular basis, and it seems that very few are in a position to do some of the things Mr. Harris suggests to defer costs, such as picking up the body yourself, getting all the paper work, such as death certificate, the coroner’s release (if necessary) and any local certificates required for cremation.

To me, the last thing I want to do after losing a loved one is to pick them up in my own vehicle and transport them to the crematorium. The body will most likely be in a bag that will contain any fluids that might escape, but I know from personal experience that this can be a rather unpleasant event. And depending upon how quickly you are able to claim your loved one, there may be an odor, which can happen surprisingly soon after death. Also, if you have a small car, how do you arrange them? Crumpled over? Sitting up? In the vehicle interior or in the trunk?

If you were to choose cremation, I personally feel it is worth it to pay for the above mentioned items. I don’t want to go through courthouse red tape and being referred here there and everywhere.

Even with his bias, the book is an excellent resource, and he offers other resources on each topic as well.

I hope this has been helpful to you.