In this month’s Diocesan Times you are going to meet Will
Fougere, the recipient of a double-lung transplant last year. His story is not
mine to tell, but the fact that Will is still alive is reason for all of us to
have an important discussion with our family and friends. Will is alive because
someone else’s life could not be spared and that person, at some point in life,
elected to become an organ donor. That organ donation saved Will’s life. The courageous
forethought of that person saved Will’s life.
In an era of rapidly advancing medical technologies there
are many ethical issues that arise. The Christian nexus for many of these
ethical debates reach to the very heart of our understanding of our working out
of God’s purpose in our lives individually, corporately and the entire created
order. Organ donation is one such area that, as a Christian, I can emphatically
support and I would argue speaks deeply to an incarnational God who walked
among the muck of the world that we may reflect, or re-present, confident in
the ever presence of the Kingdom of God as revealed to us through the life,
crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ.
Let us be honest with ourselves and others as we discern our
walk, our gifts, our hopes and fears. There is lots of muck, many unseen events
which may bog us down, in this wonderful but wounded world (1 Samuel 2:8).
Having spent time minding the on-call pager as a chaplain in a hospital I know
that loved-ones are heart-stricken and deeply uncomfortable making such decisions
for family members for whom death of the body is imminent. Having someone else
make this decision near the time of death is excruciatingly painful. It is also
unnecessary if we have the conversation now.
The offering of your organs for transplant is arguably an
incarnational example of the second great commandment: “Love your neighbour as
yourself.” (See Matthew 22:37-40 for the two great commandments). We know
through parables such as the Good Samaritan that our neighbour extends far
beyond the person who lives next door, in our neighbourhood, or even in our
country.
But, what about the resurrection? Don’t we need our bodies
in the promised resurrection? Saint
Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:35-49 seems to make a
penultimate point – the ultimate being the final victory of life over death
through Jesus Christ – that our body is not sown as the body that shall be. Our
current bodies of corruption will be raised in incorruption; sown a natural
body, raised a spiritual body. It is reasonable to conclude that we do not need
any single part of our body to experience the fullness of the resurrection.
I have briefly, indeed far too briefly, argued that organ
donation is consistent with Scripture. It is a blessed, re-presentation of the
incarnation to courageously offer one’s organs for donation. It is also an
important step to help relieve some of the physical, mental and spiritual pain
being experienced by many on the organ donation wait list.
You can help by doing the following:
Firstly, talk to your family and make your wishes known.
Talk to them, and your pastor, forthrightly about your faith, your motivations,
your hopes and your fears concerning organ donation. This is an important fist
step for everyone involved in the organ donation process. Make sure your family
knows your wishes. Even if you have registered as a donor, health professionals
still need to ask your family for consent before recovering organs or tissue.
Donation can only take place if your family consents at time of death. You can
make this moment less stressful for your family by making your wishes known
now.
Secondly, register as an organ donor today. Please visit the
website: www.legacyoflife.ns.ca or
call MSI at 1-800-563-8880.
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