The end is near

Friday Oct 5th is this blogs birthday (1 year old now). It was also the day 3,000 hits were recorded. Kind of neat, I suppose.

But this will also probably be the blogs last entry. My final post.

This blog was to be about my experience with live liver organ donation. I wanted to let others know what it was like to donate an organ. It was started because the local hospital, where the transplant was to take place, wouldn't allow this areas largest newspaper to do a story about me and my donation experience. I wanted to get the word out in case I wasn't able to donate my liver. Which was what happened.

I also used ambiguous, yet obvious pseudonyms for the characters in and around me. Because of this blog, I received a pretty large amount of flack from people that didn't like what I was writing about. All of which can be found here, on the blog.

Because of that, I chose to stop putting in personal accounts and observances of the characters so I could comply with those few that were unhappy. And, because of that, the only thing left was to regurgitate information that was already available to anyone that can perform a Google search. I can't do that anymore. If it's not personal, it's not what I want to do. The blog has become old, stale and stagnant.

I want to thank most of you for stopping by every so often and supporting me over the last year when there was real honest content on the blog. It was a wonderful ride.....

I end with today's numbers:

Waiting list candidates as of today 11:09am
All	97,504

http://www.optn.org/data/

Curent numbers

Waiting list candidates as of today 9:31am 9/11/07
97,216
http://www.optn.org/data

332 people have been added to the waiting list in 23 days.

Current numbers

Waiting list candidates 96,884 as of today 5:15pm
Data from OPTN.org

It's amazing how fast the numbers are rising. We will have 100,000 people waiting for an organ probably in less than a year (by my estimate nothing to substantiate those numbers). I can only assume that the number of people that die every day will rise accordingly. Right now, I believe that number is about 17 people die every day waiting for an organ.

CORE has updated is Facts and Statistics page. It's an interesting read.

Back in action

Okay, wow, like, it's been a while.
I still have a few hangers on. I appreciate it. Really, I do.

Now that I have a real job, (taking care of my kids) I don't have time for the frivolous stuff like blogging. (tongue in cheek) Sort of.

So, here's a nutshell update.

Moved out (you already know that)
No regular paycheck (you already know that too)
Trying to get a photography studio off the ground.
Looking for a corporate type gig (otherwise know as a "job")
Trying to adjust to living in a box with 5 other people......moving in with the recipient and the recipient's spouse is a HUGE adjustment. My kids are not as enthusiastic about it anymore either. I am sure it goes both ways though.

Next week I get to go "home" for a few days. My 20 year class reunion is Aug 10/11. Almost didn't get to go. I would have been truly bummed if that had happened. Truly.

For three weeks, I have been hanging out with our summer visitor.....She is legally a niece. But because of my superior way of being specifically ambiguous, I will call her....OldestD. It has been fun, and trying. From OldestD's perspective, I am the "entertainment". Since I don't have a day job, it's up to me to keep the kids entertained. Swimming, food, shopping, trips ANYWHERE out of the house. You know. Everything I have waited to do since I was a young teenager. Being a DAD is nothing short of great. Wish OldestD could stay forever. Wish she could have been with us these past years....

Other things happening are:
The recipient has been taken off some more medications. He is doing very well since the transplant. Even in the past three weeks, things are better. He was really tired for quite some time. Early to bed. Late to rise. Mid day nap for a few hours, then back to bed early at night. Now, the nap is essentially gone. Strength is still low and a few other issues exist like the lost feeling in fingers of the left hand. Still there.

I have been monitoring the numbers, but obviously haven't posted any. Here they are:
Waiting list candidates: 96,940 as of today 11:22am (8/5/07)
It won't be long until the list tops 97 THOUSAND people waiting for an organ. I guess I should do my part.

A little FYI. Over the summer, there was an ad campaign on TV about teen drivers. While I am not a teen driver, I have one that is of age, and two that are becoming aware of driving. They ask the speed limit. Recognize red lights (and green ones too). The stats from SADD (culled from the NTSB) say in 2005, 43,200 died in traffic accidents. That same year, 3,467 15- to 20-year-old drivers were killed in accidents. (Not in additions to, but as a part of).

Looking on the CORE web site. I found some interesting bits of information. First, one:

If I die of a heart attack, can I be an organ donor?
No. For traditional organ donation, a person needs to be in a hospital and on a ventilator at the time of death. If someone dies of a heart attack, that person may donate tissue, but not organs.

Another one that is a big bummer, but understandable (source here) :

Donation Facts
-Under a program called "Routine Referral"
...However, when an individual dies outside the hospital setting, the individual may be able to donate tissue or corneas, but not organs.

Those two items have been the most troubling for me. The death outside a hospital was surprising. But my limited knowledge of anatomy, I will assume that when the heart stops beating, the organs begin to deteriorate. Thus, in a car accident, it can be several minutes (tens of minutes) before a crew could extricate a decedent. By that time the organs are in pretty bad shape. Not exactly something to put into another person huh.

With those two items, I can begin to understand how important it is to have more and more people to be organ donors. Right now, so many people die in car accidents, they are probably the bulk of organ donors. If the death occurs in the car, then they cannot donate.

Kind of a strange irony.

A new era

Over the past week to two weeks, I have been coming up with something of a new plan for my professional career path. Flash back to last summer when the recipient was really sick, we (actually just me) were thinking that if the recipient did pass away, we would fast track it back to the Great State of WA. Come fall, I was offering a slab of my own liver. Last November, I wasn't able to donate. This winter (February) the recipient received a liver. Spring=change, and we bought a house here north of Pittsburgh, thus securing our medium term stay, extending the 5 years that we (again, probably just me) would give Pittsburgh......sigh

Now, given my wifes penchant for being in a constant state of chaos, we are getting ready to move into said house. The recipient and spouse have most of their stuff in the house, and the flooring and paint is supposed to be going in. When I say "in the house" that's literally. The dining room and living rooms are FULL of their stuff. Both floors also have to be replaced so we will be doing a lot of move everything there, then move it again then move it AGAIN. Something I loathe!

So, that effectively brings you current.

The new era.....I would really like to head in the direction of a photography. Really! I would. Our new house has an out building that could server as an office/SMALL studio. I mean REALLY small studio. I also got a shot of hope from a Canadian web site that focuses on social change. You can see their images here http://www.photosensitive.com. Last month I was also reading about NGO's, otherwise known as Non Governmental Organizations. BIG non profits that are about bringing about the betterment of the world, one country at a time. The photographers that work for the NGO's are usually contract photogs. In some cases they are actually staff employees, but not often.

Right now I am in the discovery phase of the process. After I do my research, I will take the information I learn and to move forward by creating a non profit foundation/organization. File for the 501(c)(3) tax status. That will put me in the position of being able to request tax exempt donations from large corporations and individuals that might be sympathetic to organ donation and it's various associated causes. Right now, my cause is commendable, but I can honestly say, being successful puts me into the position of sacrifice that frankly, I am not prepared to perform. I don't mind working hard, but there has to be a payoff. My family can't eat off great pictures of organ donors. If I can actually pull a salary as a photographer, then putting 110% into this cause can then actually create some change. To wit there are 96,667 people waiting for organs this afternoon.

I have another photographer friend of mine that has offered to pull me in as a 1/3 partner. That should bring is some weddings and perhaps some team and individual portrait jobs next spring/summer. It's a tough gig to work full time on the weekdays, then shoot weddings and sports on the weekends. That's where I am not willing to sacrifice quite yet. The kids are young and I am involved, so I an staying on the side of caution before I jump headlong in to the mosh pit.

In the news

A Dutch TV show is raising some controversy with it's crazy antics. A woman is going to have a game show to see who will get one of her kidneys while she is alive.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,276043,00.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18919768

It interesting that in the article people are quoted saying it disgusting that this show will air and they want to shut it down. Yet, no one offers any suggestions on how to fix the issue of people waiting so long for an organ. In the Netherlands, their average wait is 4 years.

It's great that someone took some outside thinking to bring about an awareness. Here in the US, our numbers are significantly higher than those in the Netherlands. Currently the accepted (average) number is 17 people die every day waiting for an organ. That puts us around 6,200 annual deaths. Right now, there are 96,470 people on the waiting list.

Encore, encore

"I called out Sue's name twice, and the second time she raised her hand," he said. "I announced we had to get her to Pittsburgh, to the children's hospital, that they had a heart for her little boy." - Pennsylvania State Police

That is an excerpt from this Fox News article about a boy getting an opportunity at life from a live saving organ donor but also, because of technology. They were at a concert and his mother had a cell phone that was able to be located from GPS, but I think it was triangulation. GPS is a receiver, cell phones send out signals that can be triangulated.

If the venue that she was at had a cell phone jammer (which is illegal right now in the US but some want to change that) or if her phone was turned off, he may have missed an opportunity at a new heart.

Jammer info:
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cell-phone-jammer.htm
http://www.slate.com/id/2092059/ This is an old article, but may still apply.
http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/index.htm?job=operations_2&id=cellular

The important thing is the fact that someone donated their heart to John.
Our current numbers are:

Waiting list candidates as of today 10:59am
All	96,371
Kidney	71,598
Pancreas	1,683
Kidney/Pancreas	2,356
Liver	16,855
Intestine	231
Heart	2,778
Lung	2,756
Heart/Lung	124
All candidates will be less than the sum due to candidates waiting for multiple organs

Transplants performed January - February 2007
Total	4,424
Deceased Donor	3,414
Living Donor	1,010
Based on OPTN data as of 05/04/2007

Donors recovered January - February 2007
Total	2,274
Deceased Donor	1,266
Living Donor	1,008
Based on OPTN data as of 05/04/2007

Making it up as I go

It is May 2007 now. Last month, April, was National Donate Life Month. I saw ZERO national efforts regarding organ donation. I watch the news (NBC Brian Williams, ABC nightly news and CNN) on my iPod at least 4 of 7 days a week. In all of April, none of them had a story on organ donation. Locally, I don't watch the news since I am editing pictures at night from the previous weeks events or I am sleeping.

It is pretty disappointing to say the least. But in all fairness (because that's what I am about), I wasn't out there doing interviews or getting portraits either, so I am not pointing a finger, just making an observation.

I looked back on the numbers and unfortunately, I didn't do a good job posting last month. My post on Mar 26 shows 95,611 waiting for organs. April 10 shows 95,978 and May 1 (today) shows 96,254. There was an increase of 643 people waiting based on those numbers. Of course many have been added and dropped because they got organs or they died waiting for an organ. Out of the 36 days between Mar26 and May1, it averages just over 17 people per day being added to the list. 17.8 actually.

All of last month, I wore a Donate Life pin. It's a red heart/ribbon type of pin. I put a sticker on it with the number of people waiting for an organ. The first day I wore it, someone asked what it was. Yesterday, someone else asked. I don't remember anyone asking at any other time of the month. Very strange indeed.

A New High...or a low

The United States went over 96 THOUSAND people waiting for organs today.

Waiting list candidates as of today 12:17pm
All	96,003
Kidney	71,120
Pancreas	1,728
Kidney/Pancreas	2,364
Liver	16,912
Intestine	234
Heart	2,781
Lung	2,808
Heart/Lung	125
All candidates will be less than the sum due to candidates waiting for multiple organs

Transplants performed January - January 2007
Total	2,268
Deceased Donor	1,724
Living Donor	544
Based on OPTN data as of 04/06/2007

Donors recovered January - January 2007
Total	1,191
Deceased Donor	648
Living Donor	543
Based on OPTN data as of 04/06/2007

April is National Donate Life Month

This morning at 9:00am I saw on the http://www.optn.org/data web site, there were 95,978 people waiting for an organ.

I received some lapel pins from OrganDonor.gov yesterday too. I am wearing my pin for the rest of April. (I never did get anything from the other organization that offered).

You too can get a pin from here: US Dept of Health and Human Services

I modified my pin with a label that has the current number of people waiting for an organ. Mine says 95,971 (from 10:00 am 4/10/07).

Data correction

I posted on Thursday March 15, 2007 that a person dies every 17 minutes waiting for an organ.

That was wrong.

The current national average is 17 die every DAY. Not one every 17 minutes.

What's the difference?

Well, 17 per day equals 6,205 per year. (The number used varies from 15 to 18, with most using 17 per day).

One every 17 minutes would equal 30,917 per year. (Given 60 minutes to an hour, 1440 per day, 525,600 minutes per year).

No one corrected me on this error. I caught it myself. So that means that:
1) No one actually looks at the info I post.
2) The info I post is easily accepted as fact because I am a damn intelligent and very honest person.
3) The dismal web hits I am actually counting are bots and don't know data from errata.
4) I am the only one actually reading the details of this blog.
5) All of the above.

Numbers for the week

I watched the numbers on OPTN go from 95, 599 most of the day to 95,611 between 5:00pm and 5:12pm. It was kind of weird.

April is Organ Donation month.

I emailed a contact from a local organization that is "one of 58 federally designated not-for-profit organ procurement organizations (OPO) in the United States". I had heard from one of the representatives well over a month ago and they had offered to send me some trinkets that I could use to give to the subjects of my interviews and for my project. Even after two follow up emails, I haven't received anything. While the trinkets are not that important, I was just really excited that at one point, the potential for recognition and the very real possibility of legitimacy was just over the horizon for the One-A-Day-2007 project.

Unfortunately it's just one of the few things that have failed to materialize lately. I was also to have been invited to a staff meeting for a similar purpose, but since there hasn't been any follow ups from that organizations, it too will fall to the side.

I would like to think that everyone is gearing up for April and the organ donation month. But I seriously doubt it.

A new high

It looks like the U.S. hit a new high today regarding the number of people waiting for organs. With that in mind, April is National Donate Life month. I have a permalink on the right nav bar.

Waiting list candidates as of today 4:45pm
All	95,502
Kidney	70,545
Pancreas	1,745
Kidney/Pancreas	2,373
Liver	16,944
Intestine	232
Heart	2,819
Lung	2,820
Heart/Lung	124
All candidates will be less than the sum due to candidates waiting for multiple organs

Transplants performed January - December 2006
Total	28,926
Deceased Donor	22,200
Living Donor	6,726
Based on OPTN data as of 03/09/2007

Donors recovered January - December 2006
Total	14,748
Deceased Donor	8,022
Living Donor	6,726
Based on OPTN data as of 03/09/2007

Up against the window

Up against the window, I have a good view of people in the A terminal. To my left, is a young man, perhaps in his early 20’s reading a book. Across from me is an Asian couple sharing a DVD on a laptop. The man is much more entertained by the movie then his companion. He regularly jumps and giggles to himself as the scenes change. She….is…. unmoved. Slightly in front and to my left is another couple. They are Caucasian. She with a brown open crochet type covering on. Not quite a sweater, but not a doily. It’s dark brown and matches her leather sandals quite nicely. He in tennis shoes like most of the men in the terminal. Next to them a few empty seats down is a trio of men. One looks to be the “leader”. I see him as a former football player with not enough talent but plenty of enthusiasm. His hair is short and graying. He wears a checkered yellow shirt tucked smartly into his khaki Dockers. He probably coaches his son’s baseball team now. He can’t sit for long always getting up and checking the sports scores.

When I follow someone with my eyes, watching them for any clue to their current situation. Is it business or pleasure? I can only imagine where they have been. What they are doing and where they are going.

The reality of my fear is truly unfounded. While I may have had a few people turn me down for a picture. Nearly everyone will listen to me for a few seconds to several minutes of my chatter about organ donation. No one has any idea about the number of people that are waiting for an organ. They don’t consider that one person will die every 17 minutes waiting for an organ. One that will not arrive. I don’t know what caused the death of the patient the first day the recipient was in ICU. It could have been a sickness, accident or natural causes. I remember seeing the distress on their faces. I could almost feel it.

DATA CORRECTION [I erroneously posted that "one person dies every 17 minutes". The actual accepted number is "17 people die every day".]
What's the difference? At 17 per day = 6,205 deaths. If it were one every 17 minutes, there would be 30, 917 per year.

All around me wandering in and out of empty blue vinyl seats are people coming or going. There are so many stories that are waiting to be told. A few months ago, I would have called it a “target rich” environment. But now, I am leery to approach a subject in an airport. Mostly because of no way to easily escape. At the mall, I can head out a door to the parking lot. In a book store, I can duck into another aisle filled with fiction or Harlequin books. In the airport. Not so easy to disappear.

To my right is a younger woman with a large diamond wedding ring. It looks to be a princess cut set in white gold. Simple design but pretty nice. It still shines so she probably hasn’t been married too long.

In most public places, people tend to put barriers between themselves and others. Separating us from “them”. Normally it’s distance. In an airport, it’s seats. On my left is the young man two empty seats (one with my camera and laptop bog on it) then myself. To my right are two more seats and the young woman. She too, has a bag on one of the two seats. So between the three of us there are seven seats with 5 taken up. Psychologically, no one will sit in between us. There really is only one seat. Sure, we can move our bags, but we won’t. They are our barriers. The protective cocoon we put up.

To the young woman’s right are two college age guys. They are sitting in the two seats immediately next to her. I can see her discomfort. She ahs made “innocent” glances their way to see if she approves of their proximity. Getting up and moving to another seat would be rude. Something that’s probably not acceptable here in the south. But yet, these two young men got up and moved to the area the trio was occupying. Now the woman is alone in her small space. When two of the trio return, there will be a dilemma. Sit next to other “men” or remain standing and wait for another set of seats to open.

The “leader“of the trio has returned. He’s standing now. One of his colleagues has his own bags on one of the seats and if he were to sit next to it, he would violate the “man law” of sitting too close.

Being up against the window is entertaining to say the least.

In the heart of a nation

Here I am in Omaha Nebraska. This is what I would call a little big city. It covers a lot of area, but when you drive around, it has a homey feel to it. Everyone here is incredibly polite and patient. I think the farther west one goes, the more patience there is to be had. I am definately not used to driving the speed limit. EVERYWHERE. So if you come to Omaha, don't be in a hurry, the roads are full of farmers that are kind of used to not getting anywhere very fast. And I mean that in a good way.

I ate at a steak place tonight that was DELICIOUS. Very clean and I think fair priced. Well for one anyway. for a family of four it could get spendy. I didn't look over the menu much becuase I saw what I wanted right away. If you wanted meat, this was a good place to eat.

My waitress was named "M". Well, it wasn't really, but for the purpose of the blog it is. (You know I don't ID anyone). We chatted a decent amount, and I wanted to talk more, but she was working and I do talk tooooooo much. ((I am starting to recognize that too)).

After my check was paid, I offered her a business card about the One-A-Day-2007 organ donation awareness project and I bluntly asked if she was an organ donor. Normally I try to ease into that. This time I just felt I should put it all out there. She is. And I continued to ask what helped her make that decision.

She wasn't sure. But it seems to be the right thing to do she told me. Later she mentioned that she was nervous about the first time she had to make that decision on her first drivers license.

We talked a little more and I mentioned my preference to taking action sports pictures to portraits. "This project and the portraits are very difficult for me" I went on to say. But the Awareness project is about the conversations about organ donation. The portraits are secondary.

I think, when she asked if I wanted to do more portraits, I may have missed an opportunity. I was too damn busy talking to realize that until after I left. I may have been able to get a picture of her, but I just plain missed it.

That is one if the job hazards per se. I don't get a second chance. I have one, single moment in time to determine the possibility in a complete stranger and make the request to take their portrait. It's truly a shame because some of these people I meet are an incredible joy to talk with. I can only imagine how much fun it would be to spend an hour shooting pictures. When I travel there is zero chance to ever meet this person again. But the reality is that I don't know if many of the people I talk to about the project ever actually visit the web site. Everyone says they will, but I RARELY hear from them if they do visit. I don't have any way of tracking visitors other then by the counter on the page. It would probably knock me out of my shoes if someone emailed or called and said "hey, I want you to come take my picture".

I mean really, that would make me so damn happy I wouldn't be able to stand it. It's a pipe dream, I know. But in order to achieve your gols, you have to dream right?

"M" had one of those faces that I could imagine in a painting. She had a great face. With her great smile, dimples and great teeth. I think she had straight hair and really cool glasses. It all looked....well, picture perfect. I love looking at peoples hair because of the way it can frame a persons face. It doesn'tmatter if it's short, long, red, white or brown. I am an equal opportunity photographer. I just like taking pictures of all people. I spend all my waking time looking at people and I imagine how they would look a certain way, or in a certain light. I guess it's a sickness. LOL, but I enjoy it.

As we were talking about other small talk, I mentioned that she reminds me of what I think my daughter will look like when she grows up. Except the hair. Then again, my daughter wants to color her hair, so it could end up being a different color than it is now. LOL

Anyway, I got to share my story of 'my' attempt to be an organ donor and the status of the recipient. I also shared the numbers, which I have below for you all.

This weeks numbers from OPTN.
Waiting list candidates as of today 10:30pm
All 95,223
Kidney 70,311
Pancreas 1,747
Kidney/Pancreas 2,394
Liver 16,931
Intestine 230
Heart 2,813
Lung 2,810
Heart/Lung 131
All candidates will be less than the sum due to candidates waiting for multiple organs

Transplants performed January - November 2006
Total 26,690
Deceased Donor 20,492
Living Donor 6,198
Based on OPTN data as of 02/23/2007

Donors recovered January - November 2006
Total 13,582
Deceased Donor 7,386
Living Donor 6,196
Based on OPTN data as of 02/23/2007

Facts, figures and the future

My 9 year old is home sick (as if you all didn't know from yesterdays post) and he had his head on my shoulder reading my replies to some email coming in from the blog posts.

He asked "Why do I have to be 18 to donate my organs?
I replied "You don't have to be 18, you are already an organ donor because you told me you wanted to be a donor."

We then went on to discuss what would happen if he was in an accident, or died before he was 18. Because his mom and I know he (and his sister) want to be donors, we will honor their wishes. From that, it would allow another child or several children (or even some adults) to be able to live through his (their) gift.

He responded to the effect that he was happy with how it would work out. He understands this process at NINE years old. Can he fully comprehend it. No. But for those of you that know our family, you know we are a very forward and honest bunch. We don't leave much to question.

Brutal honesty isn't something we shy away from.

Another thing that came up was the numbers. I went back in the blog (there is a search option at the TOP LEFT of the header). I found the first OPTN numbers I had posted on Nov 17, 2006. There were 94,126 people on the organ donation waiting list. Last night (around midnight) there were 95, 225. This morning around noon there were 95, 203.

What does that mean?

I had to use a calculator for this, but from 11/17/06 to 3/01/07, there were 1,077 added to the organ donation waiting list.

From midnight 2/28/07 to noon 3/1/07 (12 hours), TWENTY TWO people either received an organ or died waiting for an organ.

These numbers are pretty small considering the amount of people that die from other causes. That is why I am so hard set about discussing them. These numbers are totally within the boundaries of correcting them. Once they get to a certain threshold, they may very well be out of reach. PLEASE, share this blog information with others. I am not doing this for "the recipient" I am doing it for the 95, 214 (as of 3/1/07 1:10pm) waiting for an organ and the estimated 17 that die every day not getting an organ.

I did get some confirmation from an organization about the numbers that die every day. Obviously, it is impossible to know who will die when. So the current accepted average is 17 per day. That is 6,570 per year (365 day year) do not get an organ.

A good note was that the average was up to 18, but because of the many organ donation awareness programs that are currently in process, the number has dropped to 17. What is the difference from 18 to 17, it is 365, of course. ((I didn't need a calculator for that one)). LOL

To finish off this particular post, this was shared with me today from someone I communicate with via email.
"the reason I got into this is because I watched a close friend die waiting for a liver that never came. She was only a teenager. Losing her compelled me to promote donation through [ ]. So, I definitely understand how your [the recipient] illness turned you into an advocate."

To ME, it's seeing, hearing and sharing these stories that help motivate. Yes it's emotional. But I see the numbers, and can apply the logic to the process. I can really see that the number of people that need an organ, the number that die every year and the number of deaths in the US are all in the realm of possibility.

Numbers for the week

Waiting list candidates as of today 8:16pm
All	95,142
Kidney	70,160
Pancreas	1,747
Kidney/Pancreas	2,388
Liver	16,976
Intestine	234
Heart	2,824
Lung	2,825
Heart/Lung	132
All candidates will be less than the sum due to candidates waiting for multiple organs Transplants performed January - November 2006 Total 26,691 Deceased Donor 20,493 Living Donor 6,198 Based on OPTN data as of 02/16/2007 Donors recovered January - November 2006 Total 13,582 Deceased Donor 7,386 Living Donor 6,196 Based on OPTN data as of 02/16/2007

A few more numbers

I was on the CDC website and found these numbers on deaths from all causes (the link is a PDF file). I pulled out a few that most would recognize. These are TOTAL deaths as reported and gathered by the CDC.

The OPTN data (from UNOS) that I cite often on this blog is specifically based on organ donations and those that are on the transplant list. As you can see, with the 6,000 deaths OPTN data) I have reported in the past, there are actually over 26,000 (CDC data) that die just from liver disease. The 6,000 (estimated 17 every day) are those that are waiting for an organ.

Disease 2004 Deaths

Heart disease:	654,092
Cancer:	550,270
Diabetes:	72,815
Influenza/Pneumonia:	61,472
Motor vehicle accidents:	43,947
Liver disease:	26,549
Homicides:	16,611
HIV:	12,995

It is not humanly possible to save every life. Nor can every life be extended. I bring up the numbers more to aggregate the law of averages. Eventually, you will experience one of the above issues. Either in you, your family or a close friend.

Organ donation will not help many of the above health issues, but some of them it will directly affect. PLEASE, be an organ donor and talk to your family about your wishes.

1k

Sometime between about 5 and 7 pm, I got my 1,000th visit on the blog.

Thank you. This project is something that I hope will help thousands of people. With that in mind, let's look at the numbers for the week.

Waiting list candidates as of today 6:23am
All	94,789
Kidney	69,771
Pancreas	1,746
Kidney/Pancreas	2,396
Liver	16,952
Intestine	234
Heart	2,850
Lung	2,848
Heart/Lung	135
All candidates will be less than the sum due to candidates waiting for multiple organs

Transplants performed January - October 2006
Total	24,444
Deceased Donor	18,791
Living Donor	5,653
Based on OPTN data as of 01/19/2007

Donors recovered January - October 2006
Total	12,400
Deceased Donor	6,750
Living Donor	5,650
Based on OPTN data as of 01/19/2007

Going the wrong way

Technorati has my blog ranked 1,626,267. Ummm, that's like a whole lot worse than a month ago when I was at 1,538,965. I've dropped 87, 302 places.

That sucks.