Organ donors show good can come from tragedy
+ Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney
1 Feb 2004
Cricket legend David Hookes was buried the day after Australia Day, killed by a senseless act of violence. His family chose to honour his life and respond to his death by agreeing to the donation of David´s organs to medicine.
Donating organs isn´t like donating clothes or money. Pope John Paul II has said: ‘it is not just a matter of giving away something that belongs to us but of giving something of ourselves.´ This donation is unique: organ donors offer the gift of themselves. They reverse the tragedy of their deaths by making continued healthy life possible for others. Many people who might have been saved died because no organ transplant was available. Donations have not increased in ten years.
The Church encourages people to consider this selfless choice. We believe that after death the body will rise again. But God does not need all of the body to lie together in one grave in order to perform the miracle of Resurrection. The body will rise as Jesus rose—healthy, integrated, restored.
Australians like to think of themselves as great givers, people who won´t walk past others when they´re down. In fact, I think this Good Samaritan self-image is a bit inflated. Do we really give as much to charity as do people in other affluent countries? In any case, considering organ donation shows we are serious givers, not just takers.
But gifts mean nothing if they´re given grudgingly. Nobody should feel pressured into ticking the organ donation box on the drivers´ licence. This is a sensitive and very personal choice.
Decisions affecting our dying are also decisions which involve our loved ones deeply. People will be grieving, confused, vulnerable. Organ donation is best discussed in the family when we are still hale and hearty. Talking about death is not comfortable; nor should it be. But it gives us a chance to prepare and to support our families´ decision-making in the future.
People should also be well-informed about what donation involves. In particular, they should be assured that nothing will happen until we are morally certain death has occurred.
As a Christian, I believe that in death as in life the human body must be respected and treated reverently at all times. It must certainly never be treated as a field for ‘harvesting´ organs. Respect also extends to family members, who should be encouraged to have as much time and information as they need when a death has occurred.
When tragedy strikes, people want some good to come of it. We all owe a debt to David Hookes´ family, to the many families who have responded in the same way previously, and to all donors. We can best repay them by at least considering organ donation.
