Generosity can make a day — or a life » Opinion

PRINCETON — A few months ago, my cousin was delighted to accept two almost-full bottles of designer shampoo I couldn’t stand. There was nothing wrong with the super-priced organic soap, but the brown color bothered me and tended to leave temporary chocolate trails down shower walls.

Cristi loves the stuff, and I knew it. So, it seemed better that she make use of the suds, rather than me storing the liter-sized bottles under the bathroom sink for perpetuity, or at least until I cleaned the shelf out.

In a similarly generous spirit, a friend passed along an item I only know as a luggage screen to me recently.

I’m sure Jeep has a fancy name for the accessory, but really, it’s a rolled up, plastic strip that looks like a gray, horizontal window shade. The cool contraption is designed to fit on the back of the rear seats and, when extended to the tailgate, shield low-lying items in the luggage compartment from the damaging rays of the sun and thieving gazes of criminals.

I was thrilled to get the item, but I knew it was not a cheap investment. I asked several times if my generous friend was sure he wanted to give it up.

Each time, he assured me that he had no use for it and would prefer someone else enjoy the unnecessary, but completely delightful and handy, car part.

I happily complied.

Just this week, Mom brought home a small child’s wardrobe to pass from one nephew to another, on the other side of the family.

From ragged play shirts to practically new polos, the assortment included clothes Matt could no longer wear but could save another family close to a fortune that would otherwise get sunk into shorts, tees and sweatshirts to be outgrown in a few short months.

Munchkins grow too fast to spend more than necessary on their duds and shoes, so someone else should get some wear out of the best shirts and shorts.

I’m sure I could fill up the rest of this space and more about the practical nature of passing things on to people who need them and the generous spirit that thrives each time we make the most of what we have, even if we can’t wear the clothes or tolerate the color of the soap.

But, I’m sure you get those points and can think of at least a hundred different examples in your own lives.

This week, however, I’ve wondered why we don’t look at our organs the same way — not the ones with pipes that herald church services, but the lungs, hearts, kidneys, eyes and more that allow us to live the lives we build for ourselves.

As I wrote a piece about Jan Stovall’s heartfelt poem encouraging organ donation, written in honor of Will Thompson, I was stunned to learn just how many people fear making the call to donate organs in the tragic event of an untimely death.

Ever since I signed the dotted line on my first driver’s license, I’ve declared myself an organ donor.

At least one family member questioned that call, for reasons I’m not quite sure of.

A friend said she didn’t like the idea, because she was afraid doctors might not work as hard to save her life, if they knew they would get to perform transplant surgery in the event of her death.

And, Jan told me this week that patients sometimes tell her they were afraid it would hurt to have their organs harvested, even though medical officials don’t take them unless the patient is brain dead and therefore unable to feel anything.

Maybe I look at it wrong, but once I leave this world, my possessions here won’t mean a thing to me. If they matter to someone who loves me or needs them, I want them to have them.

Whether that’s a heart or a heart-shaped necklace won’t make the least difference on the other side of this world. It could mean everything to someone who receives what I won’t need anymore.

The National Network of Organ Donors estimates that 19 Americans die every day while waiting for transplants. They die because there aren’t donors available in time to save their lives.

What’s even more surprising is that there’s a chance one healthy person could save up to eight lives — giving each of those eight souls a second chance at life.

Nobody likes to talk about death and what will happen if a loved one passes unexpectedly, but thankfully, a family that had the talk followed through this week, as a donor became available for Will Wednesday.

He underwent surgery and, in an answer to many community prayers and the deepest hopes of his family, he appeared to be recovering well Thursday.

But, what if the donor’s family hadn’t followed their loved one’s directives? Their brother, son, father, or husband would still be every bit as gone, and Will would still be struggling for every breath and worrying that he might send his family home one day without him.

Organ donation is a very personal decision — one that each person has to make on his or her own — but if you feel deeply about it one way or the other, alert your friends and family members, because they are the ones who ultimately decide what happens with the remains of their next of kin.

The National Network of Organ Donors’ theme is “Perpetuate Live ... Donate.”

That’s a lovely idea. In some way, I think we all wish, once we’re gone — however that happens — that we will have left a positive mark on the people and places we’ve touched. What better way to do that than to give hope, to give life?

For additional information, visit www.thenationalnetworkoforgandonors.org.

Tammie Toler is editor for the Princeton Times. Contact her at ttoler@ptonline.net.

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