Matter of life and death

Washington Post: On Thursday Virginia unveiled its new online organ donation registry, which already boasts 2.4 million members who wish to give their organs to others when they no longer need them. That's because Virginians who have already declared on their driver's licenses their desire to be donors have been automatically included in the listing. It's a promising start, and the Washington Regional Transplant Consortium hopes the new site inspires even greater numbers of people to sign up soon.
Technological advances such as the Virginia registry, one of a handful of its kind in the country, can raise awareness about the vital public health issue of organ donation. With more than 82,000 people waiting for organs nationwide, encouraging cadaver organ donation is a matter of life and death. Not only will this effort ease the ability of those who wish to be donors to record their decision formally, but in event of an untimely death, it could help eliminate the guessing game that sometimes threatens the harvesting of viable organs. The registry, which has been in the works for several years, is at www.save7lives.org. Its name refers to the seven lives that could potentially be saved by the generosity of a single organ and tissue donor.
Mixed record
In recent months and years a variety of initiatives have attempted to reduce the tragic deficit of healthy organs for sick people. Some are win-win; for example, medical research has helped make matches possible for recipients whose bodies might otherwise have rejected available organs. Others involve risk and pain, such as voluntary donations from living donors who give the ultimate gift of life in the form of a kidney or part of a liver.
Recent legislative proposals have gradually inched their way toward reimbursement or even direct payment for the families of those who agree to become donors. While selling vital organs remains illegal in the United States, some have floated ideas approaching this unsavory possibility.
A far better way to collect organs remains improving the chances of carrying out the wishes of people who freely decided during their lifetimes that they wanted to be organ donors in death. This strategy requires awareness in the community and honest communication among family members. In addition, this page has previously endorsed first-person consent laws that preclude others from overriding the deceased's established preference.
Other jurisdictions should follow Virginia's path. Although the current system in Maryland allows organ procurement organizations to determine from state police whether someone is a donor, moving it online could facilitate more people choosing to be donors.