Will transplant personnel honor the wishes of LifeSharers members to donate their organs first to other members?
A. It is their job to do so, according to UNOS, which wrote this in a 2009 news release: “The role of transplant professionals is to ensure that any donor offer is handled properly and that the safety and interests of the donor and donor family are protected. This is true in the rare instance of directed donation as well as the commonplace, non-directed allocation of organs to transplant candidates.” Also, overriding the legal directions of an organ donor could create significant legal liability and lots of unfavorable publicity. Transplant personnel are careful to avoid both. The entire transplant system relies on the good will of organ donors, so transplant personnel have every reason to honor the legitimate wishes of organ donors and no reason not to. If transplant personnel try to talk your family members out of directing your donation to other LifeSharers members, then your family should insist that your wishes be carried out. Your family should also call LifeSharers for assistanc
